Whimsical Nocturne
by Mizuki Nashi
Summary: She does not have a name, but she has a song. A song she cannot sing. A song that cannot be heard. A song that is destined to bring her sorrow. That is, until an emotionless, cold killer comes into her life bringing fire and darkness. Formerly known as Love Me, Hate Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. Rated M for language and graphic content.
1. The Beginning

**The Beginning**

The stone cold floor she laid upon was like ice to her heated skin, sending shivers up her spine. Her snowy white locks were fanned out beneath her naked form, arms spread out a little to the side and legs parted and relaxed. Her eyes were closed as the young woman slept, despite the icy shakes she experienced. Her soft, pale skin reflected the dim glow of the lights in the cell like room, giving a sexier ambiance to the women in the rooms farther down from her. A clang made the girl cringe, eyes snapping open as she pushed herself to a sitting position. The dimmed light casted shadows about the corridor outside her cell and as figures began to filter in, she tucked her chin to her chest, bowing her face as she sat, exposed to the wandering eyes that fell upon her body. The routine was the same and one she had no choice but to keep. This was her way of life. There was no other way but to do as told and always keep your eyes to the floor.

The female could hear the clanging of metal followed by gasps and shouts. Some of these girls held in this corridor were new and did not know any better. They shrieked and fought before being overwhelmed by the men who were bigger and undoubtedly stronger than them. Soon, as the girls were dragged across the way to the rooms adjacent their cell, the clang of her own cell door echoed and the young woman glanced up through her bangs. The man who chose her was older than most who came and she could see his tongue flick over his lips as though he were outrageously thirsty and she swallowed the fear that tried to bubble in her chest. He came to her and told her to be good and stand up. He just wanted to give her a better place to lay than the 'nasty, cold floor' as he put it. The girl complied and stood, her hair swaying behind her as her thin and frail body moved. She kept her eyes downcast and let the man guide her across the hall, into the room across from her cell. The mahogany door opened and she stepped in. Picking her head up, she finally saw the room she knew a little all too well, a decent sized room shrouded in a deep blue up lighting and a dim glow of the florescent lights that were spotlighting the queen sized bed with the creamy white sheets and a deep red comforter.

The time went by slow, the girl surviving the long span with her concentration on doing her task properly, and as the male's time with her ended, he grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look up at him so he could remember her face. He made a crude comment and a wicked grin crossed his features before he released her and began to redress himself. She waited patiently standing and moving behind the male as he exited the room, quite content with her service, and she stepped back into her cell, the door closing behind her with a loud _clang_! She was alone in her own room again and shivered. Moving to the darkest corner of the cell, the girl sat down and buried her face in her crossed arms which laid above her knees which were pulled to her chest. She felt as though she had been violated and although every fiber of her being still shook with adrenaline, she wanted nothing more than to have the bath bucket dropped in her cell so that she could scrub away the feeling of that man's hands upon her body. She was filthy and dirty now, nothing more than a vessel to relieve others with. Her pale back, littered with old scars that were whitish with age, touched the stone wall and she shivered. Bringing her head up from her arms she turned her attention to the ceiling and stayed that way until the bath pan was brought to her and she was able to clean herself.

Suds dripped down her body as she scrubbed furiously at her skin, hands losing grasp of the sponge two or three times in the process, and her pale skin became blotchy with the pressure. She brought the pan up and over her head, letting the lukewarm water cascade down her kneeling frame. A relieved sigh escaped her as she felt better and she return the pan to the small door with the sponge inside of it. Another demon who was paid to guard her and the other females picked it up and moved from her cell, waiting for the next pan to return to the door. Not bothering to watch the routine, she moved back to the opposite corner and found her small pillow like bed. Lying down upon it, she moved her wet hair off of it to the tip of her head and she curled into a ball upon it, falling to a semi-peaceful slumber as the sun began to rise outside, signaling the start to a new day for those outside these walls.

* * *

As the dark sky became lighter with various hues of purples and blues, the world outside came to life. Birds began to chirp and animals arose from their slumber. The night was over and the day was just beginning. A ways away a group was awakening from their nightly slumber, stretching and yawning as the sun's morning light fell onto their faces. They moved about and stood, talking briefly about their purpose in the area before moving forward. Their destination was still a few miles away and any spark of Spiritual or Demonic energy could very well tip the suspect off, giving him time to flee. As they walked through the underbrush, the sole female of the group began to frown, eyes glued to the path in front of her as they progressed forward.

"Botan…Are you all right?"

The tender voice that could send shivers down the spine of any girl who found him as handsome as she did belonged to one of the boys which were following her. She turned her head, bright blue locks swaying in the ponytail she had it up in and smiled at the red headed male.

"Oh, yes." She said, "I just…well…I was just thinking."

The red headed boy smiled at her, keeping pace with his long legs clad in dark blue jeans, and he gave her quick nod.

"About what if I may ask?"

"Well," she began, turning back to the path ahead, pushing branches out of her way, "You all haven't done anything for Spirit World in a while, after all the Makai has become quiet with the peace that you boys brought with the Tournament thing and I just worry about sending you guys on another mission."

The other three listened intently to the conversation.

"I mean, yeah, you guys are strong and I shouldn't have to worry about you, but I feel bad, you know? After months of peace, Koenma needed to call you in for another mission."

"Hey," the tallest of the group piped up from behind her, quickening his steps to fall in line next to the blue hair girl, "Don't sweat it, Botan. At least it wasn't during exam week. Otherwise I might have told Koenma to screw off."

The grin he gave her was a goofy one, filled with a carefree vibe. The girl laughed lightly.

"Well, I am glad that it didn't. You've worked so hard to get where you are in school now, Kuwabara. But…What I feel awful about the most is the fact that we really don't know much about the demons we're sending you to fight except that they've stolen from King Enma's throne room. That dagger he had is infused with energy from countless generations and could wreck tremendous havoc on any of the three worlds if used for the wrong purpose. I just…I don't like the idea of sending you all in blind."

"Don't worry about it."

Turning, she saw the unspoken leader of the group. He walked behind her and made his way between her and the orange haired boy.

"Oh Yusuke," she said with a smile, "How much you have grown. Why I remember when you started this job for Koenma. You were so mad and annoyed every time you got a mission."

She laughed as he glared at her with his dark brown eyes. His hair, a deep jet black, was slicked back and he ran his hand through it, keeping it tamed down as he growled softly.

"You act like I was that bad." He responded.

"Hn. I'd say you're still as immature as ever."

The brown eyes boy turned with a scowl on his face.

"Like you've changed at all, Hiei." Yusuke retorted to the shortest member of the group at five foot five, "Cold ass bastard."

The short male glared, crimson eyes seeming to spark with a challenge. He lifted his chin, the white bandana adorning his forehead seemed to reflect the oncoming sunlight and he smirked.

"Why would I need to change? The living world is nothing special."

The short male, a fire demon, had been living in and out of the living world, crossing the borders to the Makai often to check on the border patrol in which he ran under the Demon Lord Mukuro scoffed and moved forward, continuing their trek. Although Enki is currently the actual Demon Lord, the three territories have been left to run as normal, as long as they do not threaten the lives of the humans in living world. Although his feelings for the living world have undoubtedly changed, he still believes that he's more on a babysitting duty than not. A laugh echoed behind him and he smirked. Obviously, the Detective got the attempt at a joke.

They group emerged from the bushes onto a large plot. The green grass lead up to a large gate, surrounding a big abode, making it seem as though it were a mansion. The grounds seemed quiet and the only sound they could hear were that of the birds chirping in the morning light. The four boys went on alert and tried to sense just how many people were on the property and Botan dug into her pocket for a Detective device that Spirit world had just recently made, mimicking that of an inferred scanner which humans use in wartime. She puts the device to her bubble gum pink eyes and starts the scan. She sees bodies, both male and female; big and small, and frowns.

"There looks like a lot of them." She says, turning off and pocketing the device.

"Tell me something new." Yusuke said, shrugging his shoulder, "It wouldn't be the first time we've barged into a place with a lot of demons."

"Yeah." Kuwabara said, grinning as he crack his knuckles, "Besides, Urameshi's a demon dude now. I think it'll be easy getting in there."

"Yes, easy for the three of us." Hiei said.

"Hey pipsqueak!" Kuwabara exclaimed, scowling at the fire demon, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." The crimson eyed demon retorted, gaining a chuckle from the red haired male to his side.

"Now, now." Kurama began, biting his thumb to keep from laughing, "Let us fight our enemies not each other."

"Oh shut it fox boy." Yusuke chortled, grinning at him, "You can't say that it feels good to have Hiei and Kuwabara fighting again."

"I'll second that." Botan said with a smile.

The redhead nodded, "As much as I do enjoy their quarrels, I believe that we should finish this mission before fighting one another."

"I can dig it." Yusuke responded, turning to look at the gate.

The leader of the group moved forward and smirked. He decided that they should just make their presence known and the Detective steps back a little just to bring his leg forward and kick in the gate, breaking the lock and sounding an alarm. The alarm was high pitched and he stuck his finger in his ear, pretending that the high pitched ring hurt. A group of demons emerge from the front door, armed with various weapons. He lifted his hand and made a gun out of his index finger and thumb, like a kid did at a young age playing cops and robbers, and the tip of his finger began to glow a bright blue.

"Who are you?" growled out one demon, ears mirroring that of a cat.

The question fell on deaf ears as the light grew brighter. Besides him, Kuwabara summoned a sword of orange energy and bent his knees to prepare for a fight. Off the his other side, Kurama pulled a red rode from his hair and put it to his lips, ready to call out his weapon should they charge at them and Hiei stood off in the back, smirking slightly. His hands were in his pocket, but he was too fast for these low class demons to even see him pull out his katana, should he need to draw it out. The cat eared demon growled, a low hiss coming from his throat and he repeated the question. Yusuke smirked and pointed his finger at the cat demon, the blue light glimmering with power. As the demon grew impatient, he took a step forward and Yusuke Urameshi, Spirit Detective for the Spirit World, grinned.

"Bang."


	2. Broken Lullabies

**A/N: Hey everybody!  
I hope that you are all enjoying the rewrite of Love Me, Hate Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. I am really happy with how this is starting off and I feel as if there is more in this version than the original. The original plot has expanded in recreating this and it has really become a project I can look forward to making for you guys!  
I also wanted to keep you guys in the loop, since I don't have any friends in the real world, and I just really don't want you guys to think I'm giving up.  
My Grandmother is in the hospital, so if I don't post as frequently as I would normally, I want you all to know that's why. It's been really tough and I appreciate all of your support during this time.  
**

* * *

**2. Broken Lullabies**

She napped upon her cot, her chest rising and falling with her breathing as the silence in the corridor remained still. The rest of the girls took the advantage to nap as well and they quickly found themselves asleep as well. The routinely slumber was soon interrupted by an alarm. The long haired female shot up in her cot, falling off of it onto the cold hard stone floor, and as the alarm whined in a high pitched ring, she heard the voices and whispers of the girls down the corridor. No one knew what was exactly going on, but the idea of wanting to know and the hope the human females had, began to stir up chatter that was frowned upon. Chatter turned to screams as the floor shook violently, a loud crash ringing throughout and the females all began to panic in their cells. The white haired girl crawled beneath her cot quietly and covered her head with her arms. Shouts and screams echoed in the corridor and soon the panic arose to crying. The girl stayed silent, covering her head from the possible debris which she hoped would not fall upon her head.

The demons scattered. Yusuke Urameshi's Spirit Gun blasted through the front doors of the abode and it was as if the demons were riled up by something fierce. They began to attack, shouting and grunting, weapons raised and the boys moved forth to counter the attacks. Botan ducked back into the underbrush of the forest from which they emerged, staying out of the way. The group easily began to cut down the demons in groups until the front yard was spotted with blood and bodies littered the ground; some dead and some simply unconscious. Kurama, whose rose was now a long thick vine whip with thorns, straightened and looked around. He thought he heard something out of the ordinary, like women crying, and he closed his eyes. He tilted his head back, nose high before sniffing. He did smell the scent of a woman or two and he quickly turned to inform his comrades. With this as a new development, the leader of the group called for the blue haired reaper to ask the Prince of Spirit World about these details. Upon communication with the Prince, she related to them that no information was given regarding any type of female figures there.

The five of them made their way to the hole that Yusuke had blown in the front and stepped inside. Although smaller than a mansion, the foyer was decently sized and elaborate. A staircase, wide and decorative, was in the center, followed by two hallways and family rooms off to the side and under the stairs. The area seemed quiet and Kuwabara shivered.

"This place is giving me some serious heebie-jeebies, guys."

Yusuke frowned and turned to ask Kurama about the girls when the sound of footsteps could be heard. Turning back to the foyer, his chocolate brown eyes landed on a figure that looked a bit shorter than he was and he tilted his head to the side, a bit confused as to who this guy was. Botan stood in the back and stared intently at the male, determine to remember every aspect of his face, just in case she needed to recall any details for Koenma. The boys were on their guard again and the male at the top of the stairs stared down to them with a frown on his face.

"Who would you all happen to be…And why is there a hole in the front of my home?"

"The name's Yusuke. I hear you've taken an artifact from Spirit World's vault. I'm here to take it back."

A scoff was his response.

"Do you honestly believe that I would just simply hand it over? And who's to say that I still have it anyway?"

Yusuke rolled his eyes, "Don't try your stupid mind games."

Kurama analyzed the male at the top of the stairs, emerald green eyes watching him intently as he took notice of all things different about him. The man was well dressed, he noted, a pair of black slacks adorned his legs with a navy button up shirt complimenting it. His eyes were a magenta pink, indicating that the male was not human, but demon, and his hair which looked black was well done and out of his face. The unnamed male began to descend the stairs and stopped a few steps up from the main floor. Kurama decided it was best to give Yusuke the honest truth of the situation.

"He may not be lying, Yusuke." The redhead implied, "High Security vault artifacts are highly valuable in the black market in the Makai."

"Ah, at least one of you has some common sense. I didn't steal the thing, though, so why are you at my front door?"

The short male stepped forward for a moment and stopped. He heard something that would solidify Kurama's assumption that there were females present. He heard cries and shouts off in a distance, as if they were extremely far away.

"We've traced the artifact here, and your guards didn't make it look any less suspicious when they attacked us either." Kurama stated, seeing Hiei in the corner of his eye.

"Well, they were told to attack if the alarms were to go off. I am quite a private person, as you can tell. I don't want random people finding their way onto my property. Now, if you will all do me a favor and leave my grounds, I won't have to worry about making you."

"Boy….doesn't he sound cocky." Kuwabara muttered.

"I ain't leavin' here without that artifact. So why not tell me where you sent it off to?" Yusuke retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You're a stubborn one aren't you?" the male began, his hair swaying with the pulse of his energy, "I've already told you that I didn't steal it. Now leave."

They could see his energy, tinged a reddish black, begin to wrap around him. Yusuke cringed at the pulse, feeling his demonic energy rising with his irritation. He felt as if he had something to actually hide and he readied himself for a fight.

"Last chance, Fancy pants." Yusuke said, body dipping a little into his defensive position, "Where is the artifact?"

The man smirked, his bangs covering his eyes as he flashed his fangs at the group, a grin slowly making its way across his face. He let his energy flare, showing his potential and Kurama frowned, shooting the demon a glare.

"If what you say is true, then why not give us its location?" he challenged.

"Because I have my own valuables to protect."

The group felt another flare of his energy and Yusuke smirked, flaring his Spirit Energy first. He wouldn't tap into his demon energy unless he absolutely had to. It was living world after all and King Enma might send his Elite after him again, and they posed no threat to him anymore. The Spirit Detective challenged the demon's energy, practically matching it without much effort. He was a Demon Lord, heir to Raizen's thrown after his passing and he was determined to hold that title. The demon male upon the stares smirked again and looked up at the group, magenta eyes wide and glowing with power. He wasn't going to let these kids ruin his plans for the upcoming evening. As he flared his energy again, threatening them that if they do not leave he was going to make them, and lifted his hand towards the boys. His energy began to center itself at the palm of his hand and he released it, a ball of reddish orange light flying towards the boys. They all jump out the way, Kurama grabbing Botan in the process and Yusuke countered with his Spirit Gun. The blue light shot from his finger, aimed at the demon and he ducked out of the way. Kurama pulled out his vine whip, making a try to grab the demon with it but he dodged, jumping from the top of the stairs, where he had landed after dodging the first Spirit Gun. Kuwabara moved to defend Botan, who was off to the side and Hiei pulled out his weapon, watching the demon with his cold hard crimson stare.

* * *

The girls in the corridor were panicking. The white haired girl could not comfort them and stayed fast to her spot as another tremor rocked their area of containment. Something bad seemed to be happening and a cold feeling overcame the girl. She blinked, silver eyes darting around her cell for anything that would inform her of what was going on, but no clue was given. She gripped at her head again as another shock passed through and she thought she saw the walls start to sway. If this continued they would buckle and everyone down here would die. Fear made her stomach twist in a knot and she closed her eyes tight, silently hoping for the small earthquakes to stop and for someone to come check on them to see if they were all okay and alive. She might survive the walls coming down, but the other girls would not. Her body was stronger than theirs, that much she did know, but she didn't want to have to wake up from the debris and find dozens of deceased females around her. Her chest began to ache for reasons unbeknownst to her and her fingers gripped at her hair hard and she even pulled at one point, fearful of the walls caving in on her.

* * *

This guy was no joke.

In all of their time of fighting, the last time they had a challenge was at the demon tournament, where they all fought each other and the Lords of the Makai who were where they were because of their strength. Now, here in the living world, that kind of power was outlawed by Spirit World and should they release their full power, there was a good chance that the human world would learn of it and immediately have media on the scene, trying to figure out where the earthquakes were coming from. It was hard enough as it was to keep demons in line when they visited the living world, but they also had a hard time concealing demons from the human's eye. Only a few were graced with the knowledge of the other worlds, but most of them were helping out those from Spirit World or had another sense.

Yusuke dodged another attack. Kurama was slumped against a wall, gripping his shoulder from being hit already and he looked like he was in serious pain. Hiei tried but couldn't get close enough to land a blow before the demon knocked him back and Kuwabara was trying to get into the battle but couldn't leave Botan and Kurama both unprotected. He stood in front of the injured fox demon, using his body to shield him and Botan from any misfires or attacks. Yusuke was getting impatient, a growl rumbling in his throat as he shot off another attack, and when the demon avoided it again he shot another and another. He barraged the demon with attacks, sick of being avoided and easily dodged, and he finally got fed up. With an enraged shout, he propelled himself forward and the demon held his hand up. The red ball of energy formed and shot forth and Yusuke covered his face with his arms. His long sleeved shirt was singed as he dove into the attack, which burned his forearms that he had used to shield himself and managed to land a punch square on the demon's face, catching the demon off guard. The magenta eyed foe slid back and the few seconds that he needed to regain his composure, the two demons took to advance. Yusuke came at him again with his fists raised and he attempted to avoid the punches; meanwhile Hiei came up at him from the side, hoping to quickly end the demon's existence with his sword, but the demon saw him coming. He dodged a punch from Yusuke and kicked the Spirit Detective down, letting him hit the floor before turning, hands glowing with the energy he hand been attacking with earlier, and side stepped the attack, grabbed the blade of the katana and pulled. His hand cut on the blade, but he managed to pull the fire demon forward before pushing his hand against him and shocking him with the energy, sending the fire demon flying back.

An outraged scream escaped Yusuke and his energy pulsed, his energy turning from its light bluish white to a reddish hue. Kurama shouted to the detective, trying to warn him against the attack to no avail. Yusuke attacked the demon, fists flying in his direction, only to connect with him a few times, throwing the demon back against a wall. Hiei stood, grunting a bit as he did so, his cloak and shirt burned at the stomach creating a hole, and charged at the demon as he stood back up. His fist connected with the demon's face and he wailed on him for a while until he got another shock on the fire demon. He cringed and backed up. He and Yusuke went to attack again, but the demon shot another few balls of energy at them before shooting one at the ground, creating a cloud of smoke and dust. The group coughed, slightly being suffocated by the dust and smoke and gasped as the smoke cleared. The demon was gone, a bit of blood left on the floor from his injured hand, but that was all that was left of him.

"Damn it!"

Yusuke punched the floor, furious at the mere idea that the bastard got away from them. His presence was nowhere to be found and as Kuwabara assisted Kurama in getting up, Hiei drifted off to the left side of the foyer, picking up his katana which still had some of the demon's blood. In the process, he heard it. Shouts and cries of women, slightly muffled. He listened intently, trying to pin point the location before turning to the rest of the group.

"Kurama. Do you hear that?"

The fox demon quirked a curious brow at the fire demon, hobbling over to him with the help of Botan and Kuwabara. The fox demon paused and closed his eyes, ears immediately picking up on the muffled cries. His eyes snapped open and he frowned.

"Yes Hiei and unless my hearing is going bad, it sounds like a lot of them."

"A lot of what?" Kuwabara asked.

"You guys talking about the girls you heard earlier?" Yusuke said.

"Hmm yes. And there seems to be quite a bit more than I originally thought."

"Hn." Hiei interjected, listening to the cries and shouts, "I'd say at least five of them."

"Sounds like more than that, Hiei." Kurama replied.

The two demons listened in, trying to figure out where the girls were located. Out of the cries and shouts, he tried to find words to describe their location. Not picking up much, the two demons looked at each other.

"Where could they possibly be?" Botan wondered aloud, tapping her finger to her chin, "I mean, it isn't that big of a building. At least it doesn't look it."

"What about a basement?" Kuwabara asked, "I mean…they do that in movies, ya' know?"

Kurama's green eyes widened, "Kuwabara, you're a genius."

"Tch. Don't lie to him." Yusuke snickered.

The orange haired male shouted at him and they had a small argument, but overall after some discussion they decided to search for the place for the girls. Hiei, although a bit burned from the fight, lead the group, trying to use his hearing to find the girls. They wandered through the kitchen and living room, and entertainment room and a room with a bar. They searched closets and bedrooms, finding no one. As they wandered back downstairs Kurama stopped, forcing Kuwabara to stop, and he listened for the cries. They seemed to quiet down a bit, some still shouting about earthquakes, and he tried to reach out to them, attempting to find their location. The search yielded hardly any results and Hiei growled, grabbing at the white bandana which adorned his forehead and ripping it off. His third eye, which most referred to as the Jagan, slowly began to open. Power pulsed in his veins and he closed his eyes, letting the Jagan seek out what it was they were looking for. Instead of the girls, he was shown a hall and a door, leading down a set of stairs to a basement. As he covered his Jagan back up, he glared at Kuwabara, not wanting to admit he was right, he turned and started walking down the corridors, finding the one that the Jagan showed him and heading down it.

They ended up in a dark basement, littered with workout benches and various other work out equipment. The only thing that looked out of place was a tool bench that was hiding under the staircase and behind it looked like a door frame and he looked to his comrades. Kurama and Yusuke caught on, nodding to one another. Yusuke moved to the side of the bench, pulling it back and moving it out of the way. Yusuke examined the rectangular lines, trying to decipher how it opened. He pressed his hand against the door, trying to see if it will give and as he pushed, the rectangular lines glowed a dark red and the sound of mechanisms unlocking the door echoed in the quiet basement. He looked back to the group and shrugged, confused as to how it opened, but turned and stepped in anyway.


	3. The Unusual Captive

The corridor shook a few more times, each tremor stronger than the last, causing some of the stone from the walls to chip and fall in the cells. Some of the girls who were screaming started to cry and the ones who were not crying continued to shriek like banshees, causing the girl in the last cell to try and cover her ears with her upper arms as she continued to grip at her hair, fearing that the walls will buckle and collapse. As time went on, however, the tremors seemed to stop and some of the girls quieted down while others continued to scream. Some cried for help; some for the family members that they missed and some just from fear. The walls stayed still, the tremors seeming to have ceased and the white haired girl dared to uncover her ears, releasing her hair as she looked up, out towards the hall that her cell door faced, and silently hoped to hear the door clang open and someone rush in to see if they were okay. Seconds ticked by, turning to minutes; minutes to longer. If felt as though she had gone mad for a few seconds, the whole lot of them, as if the world outside did not experience the same thing they did, but she knew that it must have, for those kind of quakes have never just happened before. She had been here long enough to know that those kind of things did not just happen. Her thought began to turn on her, calling into question the possible idea of the quakes happening in their part of the building only. As she thought about it, her eyes darted around her cell. It was a definite that it was not in her imagination for the chips and cracks in the walls were all there, dust from the walls coating her own hair, and the girls in the rooms down from her were all in a panic.

_Clang! _

The sound echoed down the hall and the snowy haired girl paused. She glanced at the ceiling for a moment, wondering how long it had before crumbling, before returning her attention to her cell door. She would not crawl to it, hoping to see a familiar face, because it just was not proper of her. She stayed at her spot, her breath catching as voices came, deep voices of men, and her heart began to accelerate. Was the whole situation a ploy to make them more vulnerable? To make them run into the arms of a male who would undoubtedly protect them for a price? Her eyes began to water and she pushed herself back against the wall, crawling to her pillow and curling up onto it. She stayed there, waiting to see if her thoughts were correct and she cringed as gasps were heard and the bang of the cell doors began to happen, but instead of shouts and shrieks of 'pervert' and 'get off' the girls began to cheer. The white haired maiden lifted her head utterly confused. It seemed as if each door were opening, the sound of bare feet almost drowned out by the doors opening and the white haired girl waited, wondering if the men would ever get this far. She heard shouts with words she did not understand, never being taught more than basic communications, and as the voices got closer, her heart began to pound so hard she could feel it in her head, an ache beginning to form. The female cringed as a shadow fell upon her cell and she ducked her face into her arms, hiding herself from the stranger.

* * *

What Yusuke stumbled upon was not what he had expected. He found a thick corridor, wide enough for the five of them to stand side by side with some room left over, and down that corridor was a mixture of jail cells and bedroom doors. He felt confused, but shrugged and took a few more steps. He came to the first cell and his face grew a few shades of scarlet. In the first cell was a girl, sitting in the middle of the cell naked and crying. Her body shook with fear and the emotion radiated off of her. He looked over his shoulder to the others, pointing to the girl. Kuwabara came first, eyes widening and brain not seeming to work correctly for he seemed to splutter and babble out of shock and a hint of outrage. There was no telling what he was actually trying to say. Kurama was next followed by Hiei and Botan and he narrowed his eyes at the girl. He examined the cell door, find a set of keys off to the right of the door, grabbing the keys he noticed they were marked by numbers and grabbed the key numbered one. He tested it on the girl's door and it clicked. Opening it, the girl hiccupped and gasped, pushing herself away from them in fear. Her eyes were wide and a deep blue, her bod shaking with fear, and she eyed each of them wearily. Kurama stepped in, getting down on one knee, and extended a hand out to her.

"I won't hurt you." He said as reassuringly as possible, "We heard the crying and shouting. We want to get you girls out of here."

For a moment, the girl hesitated. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and flickered from him to behind him. He turned, glancing back to see a door, much like the one for his own bedroom, and his eyes narrowed at it considerably. He turned back to the girl and smiled.

"I don't know what you may think, but the door to his hall is open. Let's get you out of here and into some clothes. You must be freezing."

The mention of clothes seemed to perk the teary eyed girl up and she nodded. Taking the boy's hand, she stood with his help, self-consciously lowering her face, trying to hide her blush. She cringed as the taller boy with orange hair came up to her, watching him suspiciously. He took off his jacket and handed it out to her. With a quick nod she took the jacket and covered herself with it, glad for the height of the boy for the jacket fell to her mid-thigh once buttoned up. Kurama smiled and lead her to Botan who took the girl out to the basement. With a small sigh to contain his anger, the fox demon turned towards the next cell, repeating the process. Unfortunately they could not immediately clothe all of the girls, but most began to chat excitedly, some cheering, as they were released. Each key that had a number had at least one girl in the cell. By the time he made it to the key that said C20 his thoughts were angry and he unlocked the cell, letting Kuwabara in to try and help the next girl. For a moment the human didn't see the girl. As his eyes adjusted, he found the girl, curled up on a pillow and shaking like a leaf. Kuwabara could not decipher if she shook from fear or from the cold wall against her back, but he slowly came up to the girl and tried to smile.

"Hey there." He said, his gruff voice making the girl freeze, "Why don't you come out here? We're gonna get you out of this place."

The young female moved her head, her silver eyes flicking up to look at the male through her bangs and she frowned, shaking a bit at him. This was not a group of men that were sent in, that much she knew for sure but to as who they were and how they got here, she did not know. She pushed herself back a bit more, eyes averting to her pillow as she scooted back, ice cold wall connecting fully with her exposed back, causing her to shiver. The orange haired male frowned, but took a few more steps towards her. He crouched down and smiled.

"C'mon." he said, extending his hand out to the girl, "I promise I won't hurt you. I have a code of honor, after all."

Some of the words foreign to her, the girl glanced at his hand as it came closer to her. Silver eyes widened as it inched forward and out of fear, the girl simply reacted. Lunging forward, her mouth clasps around the area between his thumb and index finger and her fangs sung into his flesh. The coppery taste of blood gushed into her mouth and the boy screamed, yanking his hand back from her mouth, causing deeper and longer gashes. The sounds of footsteps could be heard running towards her cell and the girl curled back up, tongue flickering out to lick the blood from her lips. It had been a very long time since she had bitten anybody, especially in fear or defense, and she knew she was about to be punished for such an act. She covered her head with her hands as the boy screeched and whined about her actions. The girl shook as two more men emerged from the side of her cell door. Her snowy white locks were covering her silver eyes and she gulped, eyes widening in fear as she ducked her face from them again.

"She…bit you?" a voice asked before the male burst into a fit of bubbling laughter, "I didn't think you that ugly Kuwabara!"

An argument then occurred, scaring the female further.

"That's enough you two!" Came a female voice, "What is the hold up? We're got to get back and report this finding to Koenma!"

The young woman glanced up at the sound of another female. Her eyes hidden by her snowy white bangs, landed on the blue haired girl and her eyes widened. She was appalled by the girl's attitude and although she was indeed going to be in trouble for the disrespectful thing she did, that girl would undoubtedly get worse! She shuddered at the thought and buried her face back into the pillow.

"Hang on." Kurama said, attempting to quell Kuwabara's anger, "This young lady just bit Kuwabara's hand when he tried to coax her out."

"Hn. You sent this oaf in to coax a female out of a cell? You might as well send in an ogre."

"What did you say pipsqueak?!" roared the orange haired boy.

"Guys, please!" Kurama attempted.

"Tch. Maybe he just scared her." Yusuke said, turning and stepping into the cell, "Maybe he said something she didn't like."

Kurama shrugged as Yusuke stepped towards the cowering girl.

"Hey, kid." He said, "I know I don't look like the best of guys, but I don't want to hurt you."

The girl did not respond.

"How about I get you out of this cell. Must be uncomfortable on that thing."

White locks swayed as the girl glanced at his torso. A white shirt adorned the chest of this male and jeans complimented his legs. The girl frowned and buried her face in the pillow shaking almost uncontrollably.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" the Spirit Detective tried again, this time reaching out for the girl as slowly as he could.

The woman lunged up from her pillow, fangs flashing for a second before she nipped at the hanyou, a warning for she drew as little blood as possible before leaning against the wall, sitting up on her bed with her knees propped up, hiding her womanhood from view. The male shouted in surprise and backed away, eyeing his hand as blood began to form from the two small punctures she had made with her fangs.

"Yo, Kurama." He called turning to the red headed fox demon, "Is this chick biting 'cuz she's poisonous?"

Poisonous? That wasn't a word the girl knew.

"I don't believe so, Yusuke. Although I understand why you are asking. She cannot be human to have fangs like that."

"Wait," Botan said, snapping her fingers, "What if she doesn't like being touched?"

The five looked to the girl who turned her face from them.

"As that may be," Kurama said, "we can't just leave her here. What if that guy comes back? He obviously had something to hide and this is definitely valuable should he be making money off these women."

Yusuke shrugged, moving back towards his group and away from the girl.

"Well, I don't know what else to do. I'm not ending up like him."

"Hey!" Kuwabara shouted as Yusuke nodded in his direction, "I was just trying to help her!"

Chatter began amongst the group. The maiden stared at the stone wall, mind drifting off to the night before, trying to see if she had been a bad girl and this was some sort of punishment set up to torture the girl? Or maybe it was just someone playing with her mind. Were these boys' just figments of her imagination? No. It would be impossible. She definitely was still able to taste the blood she had drawn from the first boy. She licked her lips again, remembering the taste.

"Hn. You all are fools. If you refuse to leave her then just grab her."

Footsteps could be heard and she glanced over to the opening of her cell. She shielded her eyes behind her bangs as black shoes and cloth came into her line of sight and she readied for another defensive bite, but was thrown off guard as she was grabbed by the arm and drug forward. Her body lifted off of her pillow and she struggled. She dug her heels into the stone floor, scraping them, as she halted the assault, mouth open to bite at his arms. She ducked her head to bite, only to feel something touch her forehead. She struggled and writhed, attempting to bite the male who had a hold of her, only to be thwarted by the simple hand he held to her forehead. She was weak compared to his strength and he rolled his crimson eyes at the struggling girl. Her hair was unnaturally white, like a fox demons, and he eyed her. This girl was surely a demon and he wanted to make sure she was as physically weak as she made herself seem to be. He moved his hand from her forehead and let her go, side stepping out of the way as she lunged forward and fell, hitting the ground pretty hard. Kuwabara began to shout, but the girl stayed silent as she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and turned, glancing at his feet again. There was something peculiar about this girl's actions that made him glare. She moved, virtually crawling towards the pillow he had just picked her up from, and cringed away from him as he stepped towards her. He grabbed her arm again and ducked from a swipe of her hand as he moved, pinning her to the wall. A crack could be heard as her head connected with the stone wall and she stilled, head drooping forward, and he held her by the arms.

"Hiei!"

He glared at the four in the cell's doorway, silently warning them to keep away as he held the girl. Her hands twitched and her face turned, trying to ignore the man who held her. Hiei Jaganshi would not have games. This imbecile of a woman was dragging this case on with no care for their actions here. If she had been in the Makai and had bit another demon she would have been killed on sight. He moved closer, entrapping the maiden between him and the wall before glaring down at her. She did not look up at him, but instead attempted to struggle. She shook her head, flailing as best she could against him, trying to throw him off. Hiei deduced that this girl that looked like a demon was weak and he smirked at her frivolous attempt of escape. Was she stupid too? It was obvious that she was not strong enough to throw him off and she only had her teeth to defend herself with. She should stop. The girl attempted to bring her knee up between his legs and he stopped her mid-way, glaring at her furiously.

Yes, she indeed need to stop.

He released one of her wrists, grabbing her face in the process and turning it towards him. She averted her gaze, refusing to look at him and he felt a ball of suspicion grow in his abdomen. This female acted unusual and strange by demon standards, even the weak ones, and he wanted to know why.

"Hn. Quit fighting me. You're too weak."

The girl frowned and kept her gaze averted from him to the wall. He watched her gaze fall to the pillow and become slightly glazed. He arched a brow and shrugged. This female was not going to move if he did not force her. Letting go of her chin he grabbed at her waist and hoisted her up and over his shoulder before turning and moving to the cell door opening. The girl struggled, beating on his back as hard as she could, but could not make him set her down. The fire demon could easily ignore the fists upon his back as he pushed pass his companions an turned to go down the hall, eyeing the doors on the right and sensing that something more was yet to be explained. He came out to the basement, the dozen or so of other girls rejoicing in their soon to come freedom, and moved to make his way up the stairs. The others followed behind him, herding the group of women up the stairs, and he came to the foyer before long and glanced behind him, waiting for Yusuke's next bright idea. Would they walk the woods with a group of naked women?

"Now, girls, I'm so happy we could get you all out of there, but I would have to ask that you all come over here so I can talk to you individually."

Botan smiled and waved them in the direction she wanted them to go in and the girls happily complied, going with the blue haired girl, some showering her in gratitude and thanks while others simply tried to listen. Hiei held the struggling demon and glanced to Kurama, quirking a curious brow to him. The red head shrugged and looked back to the grim reaper, silently wondering just how long it would take for her to do what she needed to.


	4. A Demon in My View

**A/N; **

**Sooooo...I messed up. I totally posted chapter five before posting chapter four. I am going to update and repost chapter four. I am going to put this on the 'updated' chapter too, since you guys won't really see it all. Bleh. I'm so sorry guys. Hope this makes more sense. **

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**4. A Demon in My View**

The office was filled with the sound of shuffling papers as the small, toddler-sized boy flipped through his paperwork, stamping what he needed to approve before filing the papers away. He sucked on his light blue pacifier, something he tended to do while stressed, while bringing a new stack closer to him to begin filing through when the doors to his office slammed open. The toddler yelped, papers flying about when he jumped and he scrambled to get back on the large cushioned chair he had been sitting in. He turned, eyeing the five who had just wandered into his office and his jaw dropped. The shortest of the group, the one he knew as Hiei, was holding a female over his shoulder and she was naked. He gulped, shaking his head and demanding to know why there was a naked woman on his shoulder.

"Cool your jets, Baby Breath," Yusuke snickered, "We went to that place that you traced the dagger to and found everything but."

The word 'but' made the toddler's face flare in absolute mortification.

"The demon we found there was not the only one. He had demon guards and human captives." Kurama reported, hand moving to gesture to the girl upon Hiei's shoulders, "And among those human captives was this girl. She's the only other demon who he had there."

"I see," replied the brown haired youth, "And what about my father's dagger?"

"There was an issue." Kurama began.

"Yeah there was! I couldn't kick his ass because of the restrictions you guys have me on so he kicked our asses!" Interrupted Yusuke.

"You mean you lost a fight with the guy?"

"Not exactly, Koenma. It was more of we were injured rather than lose. He ran away. Before he left though he made sure to claim innocence. He says the dagger is no longer in his possession and that he never stole it."

The toddler sized ruler sat back in his seat, groaning quite audibly.

"We know it was there, Koenma, Sir." Piped up the blue haired reaper, "The place was radiating in its energy."

"So, this guy basically lied and then got away?" Kuwabara asked.

Hiei rolled his crimson eyes and glared at the tall buffoon.

"No, he told us the truth and only fought us out of amusement you idiot."

"HEY!"

"That is enough, all of you." Botan scolded, "Honestly, you all still act like children sometimes."

The fire demon glared at the Pilot of the River Styx, unappreciative of her wording.

"Would one of you like to explain to me why Hiei is carrying a naked demon around?" Koenma interrupted.

"Oh, yeah." Yusuke said, glancing over to the girl, "She was the only demon and refused to speak when asked questions. Botan said we should bring you here."

"And the munchkin is carrying her 'cuz she kept biting us."

Koenma quirked a brow.

"Biting…you?"

"Yes," Kurama interjected, "She bit Kuwabara and then Yusuke."

The small ruler shook his head. What a mess these boys get into every time he sends them out for a mission.

"And what do you want me to do with her? She very well cannot be interrogated while naked."

Hiei scoffed.

"Just tell me where you want her. I'm tired of her clawing and hitting me."

Koenma turned to Botan, "Would you please bring a chair in from out in the main room?"

The blue haired woman bowed and darted from the room. She returned moments later with a semi plush chair, placing it near Hiei. She backed away and moved back over to stand by Koenma. Hiei took this as a notion to put the onna down and he stepped from the chair, dropping the girl to the ground. As she fell the girl gripped at his shirt, rolling down his arm and hitting the floor, dragging the fire demon down with her. They landed in quite the compromising position and Yusuke and Kuwabara could not help but to laugh hysterically. Koenma's face turned a few shades of scarlet and Botan covered her mouth. Kurama bit his thumb to stop himself from laughing, even though they looked hilarious. Hiei was atop of the girl with his legs boxing her in, his face mere inches from hers and the girl was lying beneath him, chest heavy from the fright of the fall and her arms gripping his shirt with her mouth slightly open and Hiei's hands framing her arms. The two demons stared at one another and the female was the first to react, her wide silver eyes darting from the crimson ones which had caught her own when they landed. Her hands gripped his shirt tighter for a moment before she released, pushing upon his chest and arms to get off.

The spell which had seized him moments ago broke as she looked away and it was only then that the fire demon heard the laughter which filled the room. He blinked, feeling something upon his chest and he glanced down, eyes catching the voluptuous bosom which he had overlooked upon the female, and then finally falling on the small hands which were trying to shove him away. He realized that in dropping her, they had both fallen into this tangled mess and now the onna was trying to push him off. He pushed himself up, kneeling above her fallen frame, and he looked up to her face. The woman looked scared, as if he were going to kill her, and once he had moved, she had braced her hands over her head as if he would hit her. He frowned, glaring at the damned woman before standing. Grabbing at his own cloak, he took it off and tossed it over her naked form. From the corner of his eyes he saw her flinch as the fabric touched her but she looked down and then sighed as if she were relieved that had been all he had done. He turned from her and stalked over to the wall, trying to contain his rage and curiosity. The young maiden sat up, holding the cloth close to her bosom as her cheeks began to flush a light pink, and she kept her face down. This would be the first time something like that had ever happened to her and she had not been severely punished.

"Ahem," Koenma began, regaining purpose, "Please, miss, have a seat."

The woman glanced up at the chair she sat beside and stood. The black cloth she held close to her was great for covering her body as she sat in the plush chair, trying to not think about her blunder.

"Now that we've all calmed down. Will you please do me the favor, miss, of giving me your name, class and race?"

The woman, who would not meet his eyes, stayed silent and still, not even acknowledging that he had spoken to her. He frowned, brown eyes watching the girl before he shook his head.

"Young lady, I'm sure you are aware of Spirit World and-"

The female cringed, her body convulsing as she looked at the toddler, yet not quite at him and her face seemed to pale. The woman began to back pedal, slightly moving the chair far back enough to where it seemed as though she were moving. Her eyes were covered by her bangs so Koenma could not decipher what race of demon she was and her sudden movement meant that she was fearful of Spirit World.

"Hn. She couldn't be more than a D class demon. Nothing she did to fight me was even remotely damageable."

Koenma nodded, scribbling it down in his notebook. When he glanced up at the girl, she had covered her face, body quivering in what seemed to be fear. He motioned to Botan and whispered in her ear. The girl's bubble gum pink eyes widened before finding the maiden. She pulled away and looked down to Koenma, smiling, before nodding.

"Yes Sir!" she said before making her way out of the room.

Yusuke and Kuwabara shrugged as the reaper passed them by, wondering just what the small Prince was sending her out to do. Kurama turned to observe the girl and noticed that she was shaking in fear. He frowned. The Makai never had rumors of anything fearful in the Spirit World other than the SDF but surely she knew that being in the living world would not grant such punishment. The doors opened again and in came the reaper with a pile of clothes. She moved to the girl, crouching a bit, and held the clothes out to her.

"You must be embarrassed have to be asked questions while like this. Here. Try these on."

She looked at the clothes in the woman's hands and gulped before shaking her head no. Being naked could no longer bother her and having clothes on would only make things worse should a client happen to come by.

"But sweetie, you really should wear some clothes…" the reaper tried once more, "It might make you more comfortable."

The girl shook her head no and Koenma sighed. The best thing to do in this situation was to try and befriend the girl, but it didn't seem like she'd enjoy the company of Yusuke or Kuwabara and Kurama had two lives to juggle between all ready, attempting to befriend the girl would only complicate things on his part. He could stick her with Hiei but who knows what he might do if she got on his nerves; plus he did not have a place of his own in either of the three worlds so that just did not work. He tapped his finger upon his chin and thought, watching the small demon hide. With a sigh, he stood on his chair and slammed his hands down on the desk in frustration. The sound scared the girl and she jumped, hands flying to cover her head and releasing the cloak that she had been hanging onto, before Koenma made his decision.

"Yusuke, I know you do this job as a favor and I need to ask of one more. We will need her testimony a bit later, but for now we need to keep her close enough to be accessible. I know you and Keiko have a spare room, could she use it?"

The Spirit Detective shrugged.

"That's really up to Keiko, but I'm sure she'll be okay with it after I tell her it is part of the mission and whatnot…"

Koenma nodded; "Good. And I know you cannot be home all day to keep an eye on her…I'll send Mukuro notice that you'll be here a while longer, Hiei, but seeing as you're the only one who was able to get her without her biting your hand off, I want to assign you to make sure she doesn't run away,"

The fire demon whipped around, his attention caught, and glared.

"And why in the seven hells should I agree to that?"

"Because we need someone and you're the only one currently capable of doing so without a severe change in day-to-day routines." The Prince retorted, "That, and I'm telling you to. I don't like bossing people around but if I have to give it to you as an assignment I will."

The fire demon growled, crossing his arms in front of his chest before grunting out his frustration. He was not one to enjoy the company of others, especially when forced, and now he had to deal with this woman. He turned his glare at the woman who was shaking beneath his cloak, hiding her face from view, silently wondering what was wrong with her and just why she had those eyes.

Those strange silver eyes.


	5. Dual Learning

**_A/N: Greetings my lovely and fabulous readers! I am so happy to see some of the few reviews I have received as of late, thoroughly enjoying this rewrite of Love Me, Hate Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. I also want to thank you all who have wished me well in my current issues with my grandmother and really appreciate all of your support! Here's another chapter for you all. I hope you enjoy. _**

**_And...I screwed this up. This wasn't supposed to be chapter four, but chapter five. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but it may not have made much sense. So I went back and fixed this issue. Chapter Four is up 'A Demon in My View' and and hoping this all helps you guys out a lot with what's going on. Chapter Siz is LONG. Currently over 5000 words but I think I'm almost done with it. Haha. _**

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**5. Dual Learning**

"YUSUKE URAMESHI!"

A shout was heard as the male ducked, a pan flying over his head and slamming against the wall.

"Keiko let me- ACK!"

A towel, the next thing which was thrown at him, smacked the boy square in the face. Hiei was off to the side, snickering, as he watched the scene unfold, crimson eyes trained on the Spirit Detective as he dodged the attacks of his infuriated fiancé as she threw various items at him, shouting to the top of her lungs.

"KEIKO! QUIT IT WOULD YA'?!"

The girl flicked her arm back, a plate frisbee-ing its way towards him. He dodged it and the plate shattered against the wall, fragments flying towards the fire demon who stepped to the side, letting the fragments fly pass him, some hitting the young maiden who he had at his side. A fragment sliced her cheek, unbeknownst to the girl, and she cringed at the sudden pain. Her body shuddered and she ducked, covering her head as the two continued to yell at one another until Yusuke managed to get into the kitchen, hands grasping his fiancé's wrists in an attempt to stop her from throwing and breaking another object.

"Keiko! Listen to me!"

The brunette looked up at him, glaring with her chocolate brown eyes which rivaled his own, tears making them shine, as he pulled her arms down to her waist.

"Who is she?" the girl spat, "And why is she naked?"

He groaned.

"If you had listened you would have known. Geez, lady. You're freakin' violent today." Yusuke let her arms go and pointed to the girl with the snowy white hair who was crouched besides Hiei, still naked, with the cloak at her feet, "That mission we went on had more to it then what Koenma told us. Koenma wants us to keep her here until she's ready to give up some kind of information."

The brunette furrowed her brows, confusion written upon her face, and looked to the cowering girl who, she just realized, was bleeding from her cheek. Shame flared in her chest, her cheeks turning pink, as her eyes fell upon the shards of the broken plate scattered around the girl and she looked up to Yusuke.

"Why?" Was all she could manage to say.

"She was the only demon amongst a large group of human females who were held captive there." Hiei responded, accepting that the argument was over.

"That." Yusuke said, nodding towards the fire demon, "And Hiei's supposed to be staying with her. That's all."

The woman nodded, a small apology upon her lips, as he let her go; arms wrapping around the woman in a hug that she returned quickly, burying her face in his chest and inhaling his familiar scent. She exhaled, still embarrassed by her outrageous actions and moved back from him, turning to look over to the demon duo which stood off to the side.

"I'm sorry Hiei." She said, "I kind of forgot you were here."

The crimson eyed demon rolled his eyes, unfazed by her reaction to the demon beside him.

"Hn." Was his response.

The brunette smiled and turned towards the girl, who was still crouched down and covering her head, before crouching down to meet her at that level.

"And I'm sorry if I hurt you." Keiko continued, eyes finding the small streak of blood dripping down her cheek, "I promise that I wasn't trying to hit you."

The girl cringed, glancing up to the girl's chin and nodded, knowing that she understood that she wasn't trying to hurt her. She let her body take over, gravity taking ahold as she fell to her knees, right onto a few shards, but the demon did not seem fazed. She gathered up the ebony cloth, hugging it to her chest as she moved to stand, gulping down the lump of fear she had in her throat before tilting her face down towards her feet.

"I told Koenma that it was up to you." Yusuke said, coming to stand beside his fiancé, "Didn't think you'd try to take my head off, though."

"What would you expect?" Keiko asked, turning towards him, "I mean honestly Yusuke. You come through the door with a naked woman in tow and say we need to talk. How am I supposed to react?"

The male laughed, scratching the back of his head, "Yeah….I didn't think about that."

The female rolled her eyes.

"Why is she naked anyway?" she asked, arching a brow at the two boys.

"She was naked when we found her." Yusuke replied, "Botan tried to give her clothes to put on, but she said no."

Keiko tilted her head to the side. She did not believe him, but turned to the girl who held the cloth to her tummy, not covering herself completely unabashed by her nakedness. She tried to catch the girl's eye, but she could not since the girl continued to avert her gaze from her, head turned to the side and tilted downwards. With a sigh, she turned to the kitchen and disappeared into it, returning with a broom and dust pan. She began to sweep the shards up from the floor, the clinking catching the girl's attention. She moved back, back touching the wall, and she watched the broom, brows furrowed in curiosity.

Hiei glanced at his charge, arching a brow as her head turned, following the broom as Yusuke's human cleaned up the mess that she had made trying to kill her fiancé and she seemed fascinated with the item. She watched the human sweep the shards into the dust pan, carrying to the kitchen and the girl stared at the kitchen door way a little bit before looking down to her knees. A glimmer of a shard caught her attention and the female tilted her head curiously. Reaching down, she ran her fingers over the bleeding areas, cringing and retracting her hand from it as the sting hurt her and she bit her bottom lip, watching her knees.

Hiei watched her, taking note of the bleeding cheek and knees, and turned to the Detective. He expressed his desire to find the room to drop his charge off, unwilling to stand out in the living room for the rest of the evening, especially since his human companion shattered a plate in here. Yusuke laughed, motioning for the two to follow him and Hiei complied, reaching out and grabbing the girl by the arm and semi dragging her down the corridor, to the guest room. Yusuke opened the door and let them in, Hiei pushing the woman in first, and left to answer Keiko's call for assistance in the kitchen. The fire demon was now left alone in the room with the female and he watched her. The female seemed to be looking around, taking in her surroundings and she frowned, eyes falling upon the window and furniture. She cocked her head to the side, taking a few steps forward as she came to the small nightstand beside the bed. She reached her hand out, her soft flesh coming in contact with the smooth, polished dark wood that made up the stand, and she ran her hand down to the handle, curiosity taking hold as she pulled, flinching as the drawer opened and she seemed surprised that the drawer did not contain anything. She played with it, open and closing it, as she examined the other drawer. He rolled his eyes. This woman was like a child experiencing the opening of drawers for the first time in her life. He halted. How old was she and just how much did she actually know of the outside world? He observed her again, this time moving to the bigger piece of furniture, and playing with the drawers on it, fascinated by the ability to open and close it. She seemed to be curious and obviously naïve to not know what a dresser was and Hiei groaned inwardly, his mind drawing the conclusion that he might have to teach this idiotic female what items were in the house. The girl turned towards hi direction, glancing over to the mirror off to his side and she was transfixed. She slowly stepped towards it, waving her hand curiously at her reflection and ducking from the mirror when the reflection mimicked her exactly. She landed at Hiei's feet, her back coming in contact with him as she tried to catch herself in the fall and she stared at the mirror fearfully.

Hiei shuddered.

His mind flew back to the incident in Koenma's office where their eyes had met and he could not break his gaze. Her eyes were silver, the iris a bright sea foam green, and were big and bright; innocently looking, just like his sister's when she had first come to the Ningenkai, the land here strange and foreign to one who grew up in the Makai, a terrestrial plan of harsh weathers and places created from the land in the surrounding areas; ice, mud, dirt, etc. As he hovered over her it was as if the world had gone silent and all he could see were those eyes. They were unnatural, even for a demons. He's hear of demons who had two different colored eyes; maybe one red and one blue, but he never had come across a demon whose eyes have been two toned and blended in such a way that unless you really looked at her, you would not have seen the bright light green iris that had attracted him. He shook his head.

Returning to the environment around him, he saw the female beside the mirror, tentatively peeking around the edge of it, drawing back when she caught sight of her reflection. She seemed a bit confused and fearful as to why the reflection did exactly as she did. He watched the spectacle, tilting his head to the side in amusement. The female had never seen her reflection before; it was a ludicrous thought, since your reflection could be seen even in a large body of water. He turned, moving to the other door in the room and opened it, finding the bathroom and behind him, with double sliding doors was a closet that he knew he could place clothes in.

Or the damned female that seemed to be playing with the mirror.

The full length mirror was rimmed in black wood, nailed to the wall, and was roughly a foot from the ground. The female stepped in front of it once more, face turned down towards the floor, and she glanced up at the woman in the mirror, tilting her head to the side, watching her reflection moving along with her. She was thoroughly confused but knew that she was incapable of asking what it was. She saw a flicker of black in the background and turned, noting the black shirt of the male who had carried her to that forsaken place where demons should not go. She was told horror stories of Spirit World and how they loved to kill demons like her, torturing them slowly until they died a horrible bloody death and then sentenced their souls to an eternity of suffering. She shivered at the thought and turned away from the male, not wishing to express the weakness of fear upon her face. The girl noticed a door was open that was closed before and made her way to it, peeing around the corner like a curious child.

The room was strange. Things she had never seen before were in here and she walked in, eyeing the room with a confused look. The fire demon shadowed her, leaning against the door frame and watching her with curiosity, as the demon poked at the sink, her hands falling upon the cold marble of the sink, her mouth opening in what would be a gasp before she reached out to touch the knobs, curious as to what they would do. She tried pulling on one, unsuccessfully turning it on, and she frowned, her soft pink lips turning down at the corners. She tilted her head once more in bewilderment and decided to turn it. The faucet came to life and the female jumped, leaping back from the sink. In doing so, his cloak fell from her shoulders and caught her foot, twisting about her ankles and causing her to fall back. She flailed her arms as her body plunged backwards and she braced herself for impact, but instead of the bath behind her, the feeling of flesh and a muscular build is what she fell into. Turning her head, she could spot black cloth in the corner of her vision and she gulped. The fire demon quirked an amused brow at the demon who could barely function, finding entertainment with her curiosity and clumsiness. He released her, dropping her onto her bottom and she cringed, rubbing at her butt trying to ease the pain.

He left the bathroom and moved out into the hallway. He moved into the living room, spotting Yusuke on the couch watching television while the delicious scent of what would be their dinner wafted in from the kitchen. He ambled over to the couch, his shadow and energy catching Yusuke's attention. The Mazoku turned his head, glancing at his fiery friend and arched a brow.

"'Sup Hiei?"

"Hn." The fire demon replied, "That woman needs clothes."

Yusuke rolled his eyes at the obvious statement, standing to venture to the kitchen. He snuck on in, catching Keiko's attention. The young woman smiled as he asked for some clothes to borrow until the next day and she flitted off to find some. Keiko returned with a bright yellow summer dress and some white slip on shoes for the girl, hoping that it would suffice until they could get her some clothing. Hiei's nose scrunched at the cloth, the color a nuisance to his eyes, but took them, returning to the room to find the girl sitting atop the queen sized bed, legs crisscrossed and his cloak draped over half of her body. He watched her oblivious form sway on the bed, eyes staring at the ceiling above, as she sat upon the bed. He leaned against the doorframe, making the door gently hit the wall, snapping the young demon from her thoughts, whatever they may have been. He came forward, stopping mere inches from the bed and dropping the clothes in front of the maiden, holding his hand out for his cloak. The girl's gaze traveled from his hand to the cloak and back and she quickly returned it, simply sitting upon the bed completely exposed to him. He felt his eyes begin to wander and halted the action, grabbing the bright yellow cloth and handing it to her.

"Put this on." He stated, turning his head from her, "Stop running around naked. It's shameful."

The girl tilted her head to the side, staring at the bright yellow fabric confused. Hiei glanced at her when she did not grab the item and groaned at the expression on her face. This was ludicrous! He dropped the clothing on the bed and glared at the girl, deep crimson eyes sparking with a bit of rage as he tried to control himself. What kind of life did this woman lead? She did not know what clothing was nor how to put it on? Was he supposed to dress her?

The thought was almost enough to make him blush.

Here he was glaring at a demon who simply stared at the dress Keiko had given him as if it were from space. She refused clothes in Spirit World, but due to her reactions from it he wouldn't have been surprised if it was because she was scared. He face palmed, hand sliding down his face as he sighed and grumbled about how idiotic this woman was. Her innocence and naivety may be enough to entertain, but her daftness just might be what sets him off. He knew nothing of dressing another being, let alone a woman. The great Hiei Jaganshi has laid with demons in the pass, short affairs where he was gone in the morning when he was younger, but since he became a sort of agent for Koenma, he hasn't been with a woman. He was emotionally detached from women, aside from his twin sister who still had no idea he was her brother, and he even holds a sort of soft spot for the women of his friends', however Hiei himself did not take a woman even as he came to maturity in demon years. He sighed, turning towards the door to leave when he realized that asking for Yusuke's assistance may not be the brightest idea. He stood in the doorway, mulling the fact over as he thought about it. Should he go into the living room right now and ask the Detective how to dress a woman, he would laugh at him and certainly he would tell that oaf Kuwabara and the last thing Hiei needed to picture was that buffoon trying to explain how to do it and then picturing his beloved sister in the arms of-

Okay. He needed to pause and rewind before he murdered someone.

He looked over his should and glared at the woman who had yet to move from her spot on the bed and he turned back to her and sighed exasperated before closing the door behind him, unwilling to have the Detective walk in on what was sure to be a fiasco.

That, and Hiei's utter humiliation.


	6. One Step at a Time

**A/n: Next Chapter is up. This one is like 6 - 7,000 words guys so, please be nice. I tried to edit out all mistakes, but with school it was a bit hard. If anyone sees any please feel free to PM me and let me know. :)  
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**I hope ya'll enjoy! **

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**6. One Step at a Time**

The sky was becoming dark signifying the end of a normal day in the Ningenkai, telling the occupants of the city to succumb to their need for sleep, a time where they could drift off and dream of things their hearts desired. The occupants of the Urameshi-Yukimura apartment were no different. Keiko had brought dinner to the room that night, not knowing if the two would come out and Hiei ate his food, watching the woman, who he had to dress in the yellow gown she now sported a bit uncomfortably, struggling to figure out what she should do. He could hear her stomach at the time growling as if it were a ravenous beast, but the woman did not touch the food. Her self-restraint had surprised him because had the roles been switched, he probably would have downed the entire bowl. Instead, the girl stared at it. He left her to her own devices, moving to sit at the window sill, knowing that the next day would be nothing more than an ungodly trip to that infuriating and claustrophobic place Keiko loved to go called a mall. He soon surrendered to the call of sleep and soon was lost in his slumber.

The woman stayed awake, eyes flickering between the bowl and the demon at the window. He had eaten the food, watching her struggling with her own hunger before he drifted off to sleep, leaving her alone in the darkened room. He did not offer any assistance nor vocalized instructions, so she was left to fend for herself in this case. The woman picked the cooled bowl up, sniffing the contents with apprehension. Was she allowed to eat this? Would consuming this in the middle of the night only cause him to wake her up in the most painful way possible for even daring to eat such a thing? The girl frowned. It was not her place to assume, she knew, and she placed the bowl on the wooden stand beside the bed before standing from the bed, looking over to the demon upon the sill and watching him sleep. His face, which was normally creased because of smirks or glares was smooth and seemed at peace. She was temporarily in awe of his moonlit features and gnawed on her bottom lip, pulling her gaze away from him. She was not supposed to stare! She crawled onto the bed, knowing that it only had two purposes; sleep and pleasuring men. Seeing as this particular man had decided to sleep upon the window seat she gladly laid her head upon the pillows, not bothering to cover herself as she closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep and darkness consumed the young woman's mind as she sank into a dreamless slumber for the night.

The sun began to rise, its light piercing through the night sky creating shades and hues of oranges and pinks, indicating its arrival. As the bright star rose, its daylight fell upon the world blanketing it in a warm glow. Sunlight filtered through the glass, gently caressing the fire demon's face as it shone brightly, awakening him. He opened his crimson eyes and sat up, a bit disoriented about his location. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around the room, remembering where he was, as his deep crimson eyes fell upon the form of the sleeping demon in the yellow gown. He stood, sliding off the window sill as he trudged over to the other side of the bed, finding the bowl from the previous night sitting there completely full. He turned his head, eyes falling on the slumbering female as his curiosity spiked. She was starving. He heard her stomach growling, for Enma's sake, and yet she did not eat the damned food that the human made? He could not wrap his mind around it. Was she a human eating demon? Should he barged into Yusuke and Keiko's room to see if the human female was still alive? Or was the girl simply that stupid, unable to even feed herself. It would not surprise him, seeing as he had to-

Nope. He squashed that thought immediately.

He picked up the bowl, and found his empty one as well before taking it out to the kitchen. He could hear snoring and assumed that the pair were still sleeping. He emptied the bowl's contents into the trash and rinsed the bowls thoroughly, setting them in the dishwasher that Keiko was sure to run in the morning. He moved back towards the room and stepped inside. The sight that was before him was peculiar to say the least.

Never in his entire existence had a demon's skin seem to glow in the sun's radiant light until now. This female, still deep in sleep, laid upon the bed and her skin seemed to glow as the sun's rays touched her pale skin, illuminating her sleeping form. Her face was peaceful for a moment before scrunching up as though she were disgusted. She turned, her face avoiding the bright light, and soon that peaceful expression was back upon her face. The woman was sprawled out on the bed, mouth slightly parted and arms out to the side; her legs spread a little bit and her chest rose and fell with even breaths. The fire demon narrowed his eyes at her. Why was this female so different than the average demon woman in the Makai? What made this girl so special? And those eyes…

He wanted to learn about her eyes.

It was a strange fascination, but Hiei could not retain his curiosity. His mind returned to the office where he had finally saw those eyes she had been averting since the moment they had found her and he had been surprised. He knew almost everything about demons, especially since he lived in the Makai all of his life, and he knew absolutely nothing about this onna's unique eye colors. He exhaled sharply, making his way to the bathroom. Splashing cold water on his face, he snapped the memory from his mind, glaring at his reflection in the mirror as though it were nothing more than an imbecile. He knew better than to dwell on things he did not comprehend and yet here he was doing just that. He could kick himself. Emptying his mind of everything relating to the onna, he sat on the tub's edge and decided to at least attempt to meditate and get his mind back on the right track.

At least for a little while.

After a few hours, Keiko and Yusuke arose with the morning and Hiei exited the room to learn of their plans for the day. Yusuke had decided to get the demon girl some clothes, not wanting Keiko to have to keep loaning out her own since it did look like they would be stuck with the girl for a while. Hiei nodded, retreating to the room to retrieve the subject of their conversation. He entered the room and found the woman lying as she was from earlier, face avoiding the sunlight, and he rolled his eyes at her. He ambled to her side of the bed, reaching out to lay a hand upon her shoulder. The moment his hand came in contact with her skin, the girl's eyes snapped open, crimson orbs meeting silver, and she quickly looked away as she sat upon sitting upon her knees. He stared at her, hand out in front of him, completely unsure of the validity of what he just witnessed. Hiei Jaganshi was a light sleeper but this girl brought it to a whole new level. She did not even wipe the sleep from her eyes or looked groggy in the slightest as she arose and he watched her apprehensively.

No….This girl was no ordinary demon.

He grabbed her arm and tugged it in the direction of the door. She complied, knowing full well that she could not fight him, and glided off the bed, following him out of the door even as he released her arm. He stopped, turning to return to the room and emerged with some white things in his hands. He handed them to her and she cocked her head to the side, bangs falling a bit in her line of sight as she contemplated what they could be. The fire demon groaned and put them on the ground, removing his own black shoes and demonstrating how to put them on. The girl mimicked the action, scrunching her nose up as her feet slid into the shoes, the unfamiliar feeling making her uncomfortable. The fire demon rolled his eyes and brushed passed her to the living room where Keiko was waiting at the door with Yusuke ready to go.

"Good morning." Keiko greeted the female, who tilted her head as though confused.

"Sleep well, Hiei?"

"Hn." Was the Detective's reply as Hiei shrugged on his cloak he had grabbed when he doubled back to the room.

"I'll take that as a yes." Yusuke snickered.

"Well, we should get going." Keiko interrupted, "Yukina, Kuwabara, Botan and Kurama are supposed to be meeting us there."

Yusuke looked at his fiancé with wide eyes, "Since when?"

"Since I called last night to let them know we were going to the mall. Botan would kill me if I didn't, besides I figured that Yukina would like to go again since she enjoyed her last trip there…and you know how Kuwabara can't say no to her."

The giggle in the human female's voice made Hiei cringed.

Yusuke smirked, nudging Hiei, "Whelp, at least we won't be the only ones bored out of our minds today, huh?"

Hiei glared. The Detective knew that Hiei despised the place that they were going and although Yusuke laughed at the sneer, he wrapped an arm around Keiko, reveling in the joy.

"Glad to know I'm not going to be the only one sitting outside the stores."

Keiko bopped him on the head.

"Yusuke! What a terrible thing to say!"

He laughed it off, hugging the girl to his side, nuzzling his nose in her hair before murmuring his true affections towards the girl. The demon maiden watched them through her bangs with curious eyes as he did so, confused by what the action meant before being tugged from her thoughts by the fire demon poking her arm.

"Hn. Don't fall behind. I don't want to have to look for you later."

She bit her bottom lip and nodded, hoping that her interpretation of what he had just told her was right. The group then left the abode they all now shared and made their way to the mall.

"Oh my! Look at this!"

That voice was unmistakable, even to the frosty haired maiden that was currently clinging to Hiei's arm as they wandered through the sea of humans, both male and female, looking for their companions. She turned towards the voice and several pairs of feet came into her line of sight. Hiei attempted once more to push the woman off, unsuccessfully and he glared at her menacingly. He did not enjoy physical contact that was undesired, especially from someone he did not know even on a fighting level. He shook his arm again.

"Why, she looks absolutely adorable!" gushed the blue haired reaper, examining the demon with the sundress, "Like a doll!"

"I must say, it does look nice on her." Kurama acknowledge, nodding to Hiei in a silent greeting.

"Eh. I don't like the color." Kuwabara interjected with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It's all I really had that might fit her." Keiko admitted, "She's so thin and small. I was afraid it may not have fit."

"Well, I think we should get a move on then, girls, and find this young lady some clothes!" the pink eyed reaper exclaimed, jumping in the air as though she were a cheerleader.

The group moved, some falling in step with others and the girl kept herself clung to Hiei. The demon was getting infuriated with this behavior and he did not hide the fact as he glared at the girl frequently, trying to will her off of him. Her hands were clinging to his cloak and arm, as if he were a guardian that would protect her from the large amounts of people. The moment they had stepped outside, the woman's demeanor had completely changed. She went from completely indifferent to shy and nervous, grasping onto his arm and not letting go. Despite his unspoken protests the female continued to cling onto him out of an apparent fear and she jumped if she heard a new sound, which happened to be repeatedly that day. Kurama fell into step to Hiei's left, leaning forward to look around the fire demon to the woman attached to his arm.

"Seems as though she's taken a liking to you Hiei." The fox demon stated, a light smile upon his lips.

"Hn. As if. The woman acts as though she's never seen a human before."

Kurama frowned, "We're not sure if she has seen clusters of humans of this magnitude, Hiei. You might want to give the girl a break."

The fire demon glared, "You try have this onna's nails digging into your arm every five seconds and tell me I should 'give her a break'."

Kurama's emerald eyes widened. The fire demon seemed to be angry.

"Has she done something to offend you, Hiei? You seem to be taking a rather…disdainful approach to this detail Koenma has set you on."

"The onna is an imbecile. Hungry but doesn't eat; sleeps yet immediately woken up if touched and she has yet to say a word. She should have made some kind of noise after one of the two falls she had yesterday and yet there has been no peep from her." The fire demon ranted, "And to top it off I'm stuck babysitting her because Koenma doesn't know what to do with her."

The fox demon nodded his head, taking in the new information. Now that he thought about it, any female who would have taken the same fall would have at least yelped. Could there be something she has yet to express? Maybe she just wasn't surprised and expected the fall.

"What do you mean after two?" Kurama finally asked, "I only remember the one at Koenma's office."

"Hn. She fell at the stupid Detective's place. Damned onna cannot even hear the sound of running water without being freaked out."

"That one!"

Botan and Keiko rushed into a shop, halting the rest of the group in their meandering and Yukina ducked in after them. The girl clung to Hiei's arm and he glared at her, trying to shake her off so she could go inside. Kuwabara took notice and guffawed.

"Looks like short stuff found a little girlfriend, huh Urameshi?"

Yusuke snickered.

"Seems like it. Damn Hiei. Spend one night with the girl and she's already hanging off your arm."

Hiei glared at the two.

"She will not remove herself." The fire demon spat.

"Oh dear, this simply won't do." Botan said, emerging from the clothing boutique, "In order to buy for you, you have to come in with us, dear."

The woman shook her head, gripping at the fire demon's arms a bit tighter. Botan smiled at the girl.

"Oh sweetie, I promise that we won't hurt you. We want to help you find more of these."

The grim reaper reached out to grab a part of the cloth she wore, pulling ever so slightly to make her point. The girl's eyes flickered up to the face of the demon she was hanging onto and she felt him attempt to shake her off once more. Letting go, her hands found the hem of the dress she wore and she let the grim reaper lead her into the store, relieving the fire demon of his duties. The boys leaned against the windows to the shop, awaiting the girls return, falling into idle chit-chat as they awaited the return of the girls.

"Here is our lucky lady, girls!" Botan chirped as she found her companions, "Poor thing was scared to come in."

The white haired demon examined the other woman whom she had yet to meet, chin tucked and eyes hidden, and her eyes fell upon the beauty of a woman. She had long pale sea foam hair that was tied back by a beautiful big red bow and a light sky blue kimono adorned her petite frame. Her eyes were a match to the man who she had been clinging onto mere moments ago and assumed that the girl must be a demon also. The maiden came to the white haired girl and held her hand out, a sweet smile on her face.

"Hello, Miss." Said the crimson eyed girl, "I'm Yukina. It's so very nice to meet you."

The maiden stared at the outstretched hand, brows furrowing in confusion as she brought up her own, staring at her palm strangely.

"It's a handshake." The woman continued, "Just place your hand in mine."

The term was foreign but the girl nodded, reaching out to place her hand tentatively in that of the apparition in front of her and she flinched as the hand closed around her own and moved up and down. She stared at their hands, thoroughly confused.

"It's a greeting." Botan explained, seeing the confusion on the girl's face, "It's a way to say 'hi' to someone."

The girl retracted her hand with a nod. Her head turned and she examined the area she was in. Clothed items hung from bars and various humans were gathering some and scurrying to another place before returning to another human at a metal box. She frowned, confused at the transaction taking place, but Botan and Keiko did not give her time to wonder as they began to bombard her with various items and questions; some containing words she did not understand.

"So, Urameshi." Kuwabara finally piped up, "How's the soon-to-be-married life?"

The Spirit Detective shrugged.

"Nothing is really different except that I see her every day. We still argue and fight like before; I crack jokes and she scolds me."

"Like good ole times, huh?" Kuwabara chuckled, "I'm still teaching Yukina about how humans live and she's really gotten used to it. Sis likes to take her out sometimes to show her new shopping centers and how people interact outside of the house so that if she ever wanted to go out on her own she would know how to handle herself."

"Yes," Kurama said, smiling, "It seems that Yukina enjoys the Living World. I'm happy that she has acclimated herself to the lifestyle here. It's a lot simpler than the Makai at times."

Hiei grunted his disapproval.

"Anyway," Kuwabara continued, "Anyone hear anything about that dagger yet? I know Koenma's freaking out about it."

"Meh, the damn toddler will call if he needs us." Yusuke supplied, "Besides, I'm tired of thinking about the stupid goose-chase we were sent on for that damned thing."

"I agree." Kurama said, "Although had we not have been sent there, we would have never freed those women, so it was indeed a good thing that we went."

"True." Yusuke agreed.

"How's it coming?"

Silence was all Botan got in return. They had sent the girl in with a dress similar to the one she wore in a bright blue color and she had yet to come out. Knocking on the door and calling out to the girl, the grim reaper felt a bit useless at this point, unsure of what to do. Keiko watched the door and then snapped her fingers. An idea struck her and she shooed Botan from the door, opening it just enough to slide into the changing stall and closed it behind her where Botan took over again to hold it closed. Keiko turned and found the white haired maiden sitting on the small seat, staring at the fabric in her hands as though it were to jump up and move on its own.

"Here." Keiko said, catching the girl's attention, "Let me help."

"Psh. I can still kick yer ass, Urameshi. Just 'cuz you're a demon lord now doesn't mean I won't wipe the floor with you."

"Actually, I think that's exactly what it means." Yusuke challenged with a grin.

"Oh yeah?"

"Gentlemen, please. This is not a place for a fight." Kurama interjected.

"There. What do you think?"

The girl stared at the mirror, finding the look a-like staring back at her through her bangs and her nose scrunched up. She did not like the blue dress and shook her head no. She was able to give responses to questions that asked for her opinion and she was only supposed to tell the truth. Keiko nodded, disregarding the silence and went for the next outfit that the girls had picked out.

"Gosh. What is taking the girls so long?"

Kuwabara leaned his head against the window, bored out of his mind. It had been at least forty-five minutes since the girls went in and not a single one of them had returned. He may have matured, but he still was impatient, especially when he went with the girls shopping. The four of them always waited outside the shops for them, despite how long the girls usually take and half the time Kurama would be the one volunteered to check in on them.

"Shall I go check on them?" the redhead in question began, pushing himself from the wall.

"Sure." Kuwabara shrugged, "Better you than me, man."

"Well, that one is a bust," Keiko said as she and the white haired girl emerged from the room with the blue dress in her arms and the girl playing with the hem of the summer yellow dress, unconcerned with the conversation she could barely understand.

"Really?" Botan asked, eyeing the dress which the girl currently wore, "Does she even like dresses?"

Keiko shrugged.

"Her face kind of…said no." the girl responded, chuckling softly.

Yukina stood from her seat and examined the girl. She gently walked over to her, smiling kindly as she reached for the girl's hand, grabbing it tenderly and grasping the woman's attention.

"Come with me." She whispered, tugging the girl from the two bickering females, debating what kind of thing they should try.

She led the girl back to the bars with cloth and she hummed softly as she began to shuffle through them, the white haired female watching the apparition as she did so. The female pulled some clothes from the bars, showing them to the girl.

"This," she began, showing the white haired girl a cloth which seemed to look like legs which were a deep color, almost black. "is what they call a pair of jeans. They're pants and you put them on your legs…I don't think you'd like dresses too much so try this."

She held up another piece of cloth looked as though it were blood stained to the white haired female who barely could differentiate the coloring from blood, "And this is a shirt. A tank top I think is what Shizuru told me. It goes on your chest."

The ivory haired female nodded, taking in the information as best as she could.

"Would you like to try them on?" the apparition asked, watching the girl with a smile.

The demon nodded, following the girl back to the room where Keiko and Botan stood still, looking around as though they had lost something. Yukina called to them as they returned, sending the demon in with the clothes she handed her, and asked for Botan and Keiko for their opinions on what she had chosen for the quiet demon.

The girl stepped into the room, door closing behind her as the blue haired reaper held it closed, and she laid them on the seat she used earlier. She struggled with the dress, attempting to remove it over her head like the brunette had shown her mere moments ago, and once she let the bright colored cloth drop from her arms, she looked at the clothes the apparition had pulled off the bars and she inhaled, slightly nervous, as she grabbed the thing the girl called a shirt; or 'tank top' as she had amended, and the girl played with it. She stuck her arms through the big hole, head sticking out from a smaller one and she felt uncomfortable. Removing herself, she held it out and saw the straps that hung to the side. She messed with it again, her arms each going through one of the smaller holes and her head through the bigger one, yanking the cloth down until it covered her bosom and stomach, turning to see if the color looked like something she'd like. The pale demon smiled as she turned, eyeing the other fabric and grabbing for it. The apparition said that it was for her legs and the girl attempted to locate the front, learning from the brunette that there was a tag to differentiate the front and back, and she found it. Facing the pants the proper way, she began to slide them up her legs, the fabric swishing as it moved and she smiled as she brought the band up to her waist.

She looked at herself, finally realizing what the mirror was actually used for and tilted her head to the side. She fiddled with the zipper and buttons of the pants, a trick she had learned during her young life to service men greater. The girl looked at herself in the mirror, silver eyes trailing down her clothed form and she felt something blossom in her chest as she examined the clothing upon her skin. It was different, never having to deal with such things before and she smiled. Turning to the door, she knocked. It opened and she stepped out, chin tucked as the other girls eyed her. Yukina smiled, excusing herself for a moment as Keiko and Botan commented and deliberated the choice of clothing as the apparition soon returned, a grey beanie in her hands. She came to the girl and smiled.

"May I?" the apparition asked the girl, crimson eyes falling on the girl.

The thin female nodded, answering the girl's question. The mint green haired apparition stepped forward, the girl tilting her head down as she approached, and she smiled, placing and pulling the beanie onto the woman's head, tucking hair behind her ears and sweeping her bangs off to the side, making the white haired girl close her eyes. The maiden opened her eyes, her bangs hiding her left eye from sight, but she could see clearly for the most part. Her eyes widened, tucking her chin in embarrassment.

"Why, Yukina. I didn't know you were a fashion expert!" Botan gushed, "That beanie makes the outfit!"

Keiko examined the white haired girl some more, her lips curving up as she noticed the light blush on the girl's cheeks and the smile gracing her lips, and she clapped her hands.

"It looks great on you." She said, "How about changing back and we will find you some more clothes like that?"

The girl nodded and retreated into the room. She changed back into her borrowed sundress and exhaled as she walked out, the two items in her hands. She was soon whisked back to the main room, cloth being pulled left and right as well as something Keiko called 'accessories', little tidbits that she figured helped make the 'outfit'. She nibbled on her bottom lip as she came in and out of the back room that she changed in and after a while, the girls led her to the counter where Botan handed over something slim and the human on the other side put it through something and she bid them farewell.

"There you girls are." Said a familiar voice, "I was just coming in to see how you were all fairing."

"Oh Kurama," Botan chirped happily, "Just in time. Will you help us carry these out?"

The redhead laughed, grabbing all of the bags except the ones where the human put those items that the ice apparition placed upon her hips, hands and head. The white haired maiden grabbed that one and they emerged from the store, Kurama carrying quite a bit of bags and she cringed as she was warmed with the overwhelming feeling of being enclosed. Silver eyes darted around the area, locking onto the black clad crimson eyed male that stood off to the side, leaning against the window with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"Damn, Keiko! How much did you all get?!" Yusuke shouted, eyes practically bulging out of his head at the bags Kurama carried, "You didn't buy out the store did you?"

The female glared, "Be quiet Yusuke!"

"I'll have you know that I paid," Botan stated quite matter-of-factly, "And no, for your information we did not."

The Detective turned to his orange haired friend and rolled his eyes.

"It's all right," Kurama said, "The bags really aren't heavy."

"At least Kurama has some sense." Botan said, bubble gum pink eyes shining bright with her appraisal, "He even came in to check on us, more than what you boys usually do."

Yusuke and Kuwabara protested as the group began its purpose, moving through the crowded area. The white haired woman found Hiei, arms wrapping around his and he glared down at her. She seemed to shake as large groups of men passed by and he noticed that she cowered from them. He quirked a brow, glancing over to Kurama who watched the girl as well, silently questioning him as to what this demon was doing. They stopped again, Botan and Keiko practically ripping the girl from Hiei's arms.

This time when she entered with the other girls, she recognized some of the merchandise on the shelves and rods. They found an area that would suit the petite girl's frame, the size saying that the area they were in was a size '2' and the girl examined the sign as she passed it before her eyes fell upon the shelves. Botan and Keiko moved to the shelves, Yukina gently leading the girl over, and they began their next bout.

"Hey," Botan began, turning to look at the girl who was regarding the shelves with some thought, "Do you have a favorite color?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders. The word 'color' was unfamiliar to her and she frowned, eyes scanning the various kinds of fabrics and shapes of the cloth in front of her.

"How about these?" Yukina inquired, holding up a pair, "You looked good in the red top, why not try these?"

The girl's eyes fell upon the fabric folded up in the apparition's hands and she nibbled upon her lower lip, wondering if it was appropriate for her to even be looking at such a thing. The other girls who were stuck in that prison with her had some of these, usually screaming that it was all they had left, and she shrugged, accepting the color as a good one. Between the four women, they picked out numerous articles of undergarments, picking and choosing things that could very well go together should she not wish to wear the exact matching counterpart. They made their way to the counter, Botan paying for the three bags which they had accumulated, and they exited the building, Keiko promising the boys that they needed to go to two more shops before they should stop to eat. The group continued, Yusuke and Kuwabara frequently complaining about the amounts of bags they were going to soon be carrying.

The girls entered their next store, the boys filing in after them. The shoe store was almost empty and the girls, mostly Botan and Keiko, bounded forward, excitedly locating various shoes and trying them all in different sizes, hoping to find some that would fit the tiny demon girl. Keiko chatted excitedly as the shoe she picked out, black slip-ons with grey graffiti like print on the sides seemed to fit the girl perfectly. She asked the girl if she liked them and the girl shrugged, partially indifferent to the shoes, only rejecting those with unnatural heights that Botan attempted to put her in, causing her to almost fall two or three times. Slip-ons, sneakers and flip flops of various colors were chosen and brought to the front, Keiko offering to buy this time as she repeated the process that Botan had done twice before. Once they exited the store, the girls veered off to the left, dragging the young yokai along, and it was as if someone put sparkles in their eyes. Botan and Keiko began to run around, finding things they enjoy and were interested in while Yukina and the young woman stood off to the side and watched. Yukina was drawn to a display case and the young woman followed the ice maiden and her eyes widened. Soft palmed hands gripped the hem of her sundress and she gulped, never seeing such a beautiful thing before, and her eyes almost glimmered. There in the display case was a silver necklace, ornate and crafted beautifully, so that it looked as though it were leaves reaching for one another at the throat. The girl lifted her left hand, fingers tracing over her throat where the scars were that she had from her time in captivity and she frowned, turning her head to look away. Yukina's crimson eyes caught the choker and smiled, dashing off to the boys, knowing she was not going to get help with the maiden through Keiko or Botan who were trying on their own jewelry.

"Kazuma…would you help me?" she asked, hands coming to lay upon the tall male's arms, crimson eyes shimmering as she smiled at him.

"Of course my love." the oaf replied, grinning, "What is it?"

She tugged on his arm leading him and the other boys to the display case.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing to the ornate design.

"A pretty choker. It's supposed to be tight on your neck but it looks pretty. Even has some diamonds in the leafy ends there." The orange haired male replied, eyeing his girlfriend, "Do you like it?"

She put her finger to her lip and smiled, leaning towards him and getting on her tip toes in order to whisper in his ear as he bent forward to hear her. His small black eyes widened and he nodded, pulled back and looking at the choker.

"I'll keep it in mind, okay? But I don't get paid for another week and Urameshi is saving for a wedding…..and the other girls are going crazy over there."

The ice apparition smiled.

"Okay." She agreed, "I understand."

"Yukina!" Keiko exclaimed, waving the ice apparition down, "Come on, I think you'll love these."

"Coming, Keiko-chan." The girl responded, turning and making her way to the human female, smiling as she joined the two girls in the small talk.

The girls took a few more minutes, Botan buying what they all chose, and they exited. Keiko announced that they should get lunch and Yusuke and Kuwabara eagerly carried the girl's bags in order to get to the food court faster. They arrived and drifted off into their own separate lines, the yokai woman sitting at the table quietly as she watched them all break off and stand in lines. She watched them curiously as she waited for their return and she tilted her head to the side. In twos they seemed to return, Hiei tagging along with Kurama, and as they reached the table they began to sit and eat, chatting to one another and catching up on everything they may have missed in the time spent in the living world. The female followed them as they found a table, taking a seat between Kurama and Hiei as they deliberated amongst themselves where to eat. The female watched various humans, big and small; male and female, pass by and took notice as the other stood and dispersed, locating a group and standing behind it, waiting their turn. She was alone with Kurama at the table, quiet as he observed her.

"I know you must feel a bit out of place, but I assure you this place is not harmful to you."

She cringed in surprised at his voice, turning her chin towards him, letting him know she was listening. She understand some of his words, confused by others, and the female stayed silent. The fox demon frowned as she stayed quiet, curious as to why her demeanor seemed so odd for a rescued demon.

"Here you go." Came Botan's chipper voice, "Sushi, just as you like."

"Thank you, Botan." The redhead replied, taking the plate from her, "Would you like to try some?"

The girl shrugged, letting the fox demon hand her a piece on a napkin, and she nibbled on it. Immediately, she dropped the piece, nose scrunching up as she cringed and covered her mouth. Botan began to worry, asking if she was okay, and Kurama began biting his thumb trying to withhold himself from laughing at the girl's face. He stood, making his way to a short line and buying a bottle of water and rushing back to give it to the girl after uncapping it.

"Here, take a drink." He says, "It will get rid of the taste."

The girl nodded, taking the bottle and taking a drink, water dripping from the sides of her mouth, down her chin and she swallowed large gulps until the taste of the fowl thing was gone. She placed the bottle down on the table and wiped her mouth, glaring at the plate besides her, making Kurama laugh.

"I'm sorry," he managed, "I did not know that you did not like fish."

Fish? What was that?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the others came back.

"Yo' what's up with her?" Yusuke asked, arching a brow at the redhead.

"Apparently she doesn't like sushi." Botan answered, sitting back down relieved, "She scared me."

"She wasn't choking," Kurama soothed the blue haired girl, "She just did not like the taste."

"Hn." Hiei responded, eyeing the girl who did not reach out for the water bottle now, despite the scrunched nose and smirked, her discomfort making him feel better about this detail.

"We should see what else she likes." Yukina offered, taking a seat across from the girl, "Not all human food is weird tasting. Some of it is actually quite pleasant and really good."

The girl nodded.


	7. To Shed a Tear

**7. To Shed a Tear**

The day ended with their return and Keiko offered to help the girl fold and put away all of the clothes they had accumulated throughout the day and the two females disappeared into the spare room, leaving Hiei and Yusuke in the living room. Three white bags hung from the fire demon's left arm, cluttering at his wrist, and as he watched the two girls disappear, he glanced down at the bags which held some clothes for himself and he grunted, letting them fall from his arm to the couch and he turned towards the window.

"Finally home." The Detective said, stretching before plopping down on the couch, relaxing.

The fire demon rolled his eyes before hopping up onto the window sill and settling himself down, leaning against the pane and relaxing as his eyes fell upon the park behind the apartment complex which the Detective lived in and he watched the humans for a little bit before closing his crimson eyes and resting. He sat there like that for a few moments before Keiko came from the room, calling out to the two boys and she had a grin upon her lips.

"What's up Keiko?" Yusuke asked, turning towards his fiancé.

"What do you boys think?" she giggled, stepping to the side.

A frown upon his face, the fire demon opened his eyes and turned his head towards the small corridor, eyes widening at the site before him. The female with the long white hair stood there, face tilted to the ground and rubicund, clad in a deep maroon, almost blood like, tank top complimented with oversized jeans partially hanging from her hips, flashing a small hue of rose red undergarments and around her waist, hanging on one side was a black belt studded with small gems along the sides. A dark grey hat adorned her head, making her bangs sweep off to the side and revealing part of her face and her hands were covered by gloves of some kind, both fingerless and thin in material, and he hated to admit it, but the female looked natural now, with some sense of decency.

"Wow." The Spirit Detective whistled from the couch, "She cleans up well."

Keiko grinned, "Yukina figured out that she liked these kinds of clothes. She picked it out."

Hiei arched a black brow at the human female. His sister picked these clothes out?

"Either way," Keiko continued, turning towards Hiei, "I figured you wouldn't want to have to share drawers, so I left the right side of the dresser for your clothes. I know you don't have much, but I figured it'd be best."

The fire demon nodded, moving from the sill and grabbing his bags from the couch before disappearing off to the room. He began to pull out and place his clothing in the drawer, crimson eyes flickering to the other drawers, semi-curious about the female's clothing and his sister's choices. He almost opened the drawer but stopped himself, turning and exiting the room and finding the white haired female sitting on the loveseat off to the right of the couch that Yusuke was sitting on. He disliked to admit it, but the demon looked appealing. The clothes hugged her curvaceous body in all the right places and the female looked as though she were much older now and the question came to mind of how old the woman was. Instead of letting his mind continue down the path of questions, he turned from her and reclaimed his seat upon the windowsill.

The night began to close as normal. Dinner was shared with everyone at the table and soon the four retreated to their shared rooms. Nothing was out of the ordinary and Hiei was quite pleased with the woman's progress, mainly because he did not have to be her caretaker. They entered the room and the female stood off to the side and Hiei closed the door and looked around. The beige sheets and comforter were in place perfectly and suddenly, he had the desire to sleep. He moved to the side, shrugging off his cloak first before setting it on the corner of the dresser mirror. He made his way to the window sill and hopped onto it, settling himself in. The female moved to the side, opening a drawer that she had been told was her sleeping clothes drawer and she pulled out some of them before moving to the bathroom. She entered, closing the door behind her and she stared at the cloth in her hands. The human female, whose name she began to know as Keiko, showed her around the room while they put clothes away, also happening to mention the use of these items in the room. She laid her clothes down on the 'sink', which was the name Keiko taught her, and began to shed her clothes. Leaving her red underwear on, she discarded the top part of her lingerie and left it on the pile of clothes she had just made. She sat on top of the 'toilet', another name Keiko had thrown at her, and began to pull the ash grey material up her legs. Tossing on the top, she looked at herself in the mirror and tilted her head to the side. With a nod to signify she was appeased with her image, she bent over, gathering the discarded clothes and moving out to the bedroom once more.

The fire demon's eyes fell upon a reflection in the mirror and he had to turn his head. The white haired maiden emerged from the restroom clad in a silken, partially sheer material covering her form. The pants were wide at the feet and an ashen grey while the top was spaghetti strapped and sheer at the stomach. Her chest was covered by the ashen grey material that matched the bottom and her hair was a bit messy and out of place, undoubtedly the fault of that hat in which she had worn. Hiei watched her with curious eyes as she folded and put away the clothes she had only worn for a few moments before the girl turned towards the bed, eyeing it and him curiously. He grunted, unwilling to answer the young woman's questioning gaze. Taking his action as an affirmative, the woman climbed onto the bed and laid down, flat on her back and tried to relax in this strange new world. Her silver eyes closed and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

Well, at least she didn't snore.

The fire demon turned, crimson eyes falling upon the young maiden as she fell into a slumber, stiff as she laid stock still on her back, and he noticed how her snowy locks fanned out beneath her. He watched her chest rise and fall in her slumber and he wondered about this strange girl's actions and what she was to that demon who had escaped them. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the female would be summoned again to talk and he would be free to go to the Makai and check on his border patrol, making sure no one tarnished Mukuro's name nor his own. He would be freed, Koenma would have his damned information and the female would be sent off to wherever Spirit World deemed a best fit for her. He turned back to the window, crimson eyes flickering up to the moon and a wistful tug on his mind as he closed his eyes. His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was how the moon was better in the living world than his homelands.

Sometimes, a thought that he never even knew flitted through his mind.

The next morning came and the four occupants of the apartment awoke, carrying out their usual morning routines. The female jerked up in bed when it dipped, flying up from her position on her back and her silver eyes immediately moved to the sheets, avoiding any direct eye contact. The fire demon turned, feeling the mattress beneath him move and eyed the woman who was now sitting up, staring at the sheets below. He felt a sense of unease as he watched her, the woman's reaction to the slightest movement unnatural and he frowned, returning to his task of pulling his blank pants up his legs to his waist. He tossed a dark blue muscle shirt on, covering his defined abs and made his way to the door. He ambled to the living room and claimed his usual spot on the window sill.

The female heard him depart, her silver eyes flickering up to the door as it closed behind him and she swallowed. Her muscle memory causing her to be alert and awake, she pushed herself off from the bed before making her way to the wash room and staring at the basin which Keiko had showed her the other day. She reached towards the knobs and turned it, gasping as water spilled from it and she retracted her hand. She shook, temporarily frightened by the sound before stripping the night clothes from her body and stepping into the basin. She shivered as the hot water caressed her skin, sending shivers up her spine and teeth chattered instinctively. She had never really touched hot water before, always washing up with cold water and a soapy sponge, and her body felt the hot water as a new sensation. She slid into the basin further, immersing herself in the hot liquids as she let her body shake until her body finally adapted. Her convulsions stopped and she was able to close her eyes and attempted to relax.

She stayed in the basin for a while before scrubbing herself with the soapy sponge on the rim and after thoroughly washing her body and hair, she stood and released the drain cap, letting the water rush down the drain as she stepped out, feet touching the cotton mat and cold air assailed her. Her teeth began to chatter as she shook, silver eyes darting around for a towel. Grasping the white towel on the edge of the sink, she wrapped herself in it and shook, wondering why she felt so cold. Her skin broke out, goose bumps racing across her skin and she rushed into the main room, jumping into the bed and wrapping herself up in the warm sheets. Minutes passed before she felt warmer and she refused to leave without the blanket around her body. With a sigh, she scrambled to the dresser, pulling out clothes the quickest way possible and tossing them behind her on the bed. She disliked this cold temperature, never having to deal with this kind of problem before, and as she crawled back onto the bed, she snaked her hands out to grab the clothing and pull it under the warmth of the blanket before pulling it on to wear of the day. She dressed herself beneath the comforter and as she pulled on her black baggy jeans, she sighed in relief. The only part of her that was still wet were her long snowy locks and as she came out from under the blanket, embracing the warmth of these new items of cloth, she grabbed at the white towel and ran it over her hair. It captured most of the moisture and she brought it back to the bathroom, placing it on the corner of the sink, before returning to the dresser.

Her hair looked as though it had come alive, standing on edge as if animated by some energy, and she frowned. She grabbed the thing Keiko had called a brush and began to run it through the tangled mess of her hair. She cringed as the bristles caught knots in her hair, tugging on them until they gave in or were torn from her scalp. She ran it through her hair until it was tangle free and dried, the continuous brushing pulling the moisture from her hair, and she felt content with her hair. She swept her bangs off to the side as the ice apparition had shown her at that place they called a 'store' and she gave her reflection and gave herself the smallest hint of a smile. She dug in the top drawer on her side and pulled out a black beanie, matching the striped black and white tee that she wore currently, and pulled it over her head. She nodded to her reflection and turned to the door. Her hand reached out to grab the knob when the door opened, swinging towards her and she cringed as it hit her, falling on her ass.

Hiei had wondered what was taking the onna so long and came to check in on her. He swung the door open, jerking back when he heard a body hit the floor. The door he had opened collided with the demoness and he glared at the frail form on the ground, rubbing at her nose. She looked at the door with watery eyes before her vision caught the sight of black pants in her view and she averted her gaze to the ground. The word 'sorry' flitted through her mind momentarily before she heard the fire demon grunt.

"Took long enough." He grunted.

She flinched, eyes falling to her clothed legs and she exhaled softly, pushing herself up with one hand to her feet. The fire demon arched a brow at the girl before turning and heading back to the living room. The girl stood, still rubbing at her sore nose, as she followed him out, leaving the door open.

As she entered the living room, she found the human detective doing something upon the couch. She moved to the loveseat adjacent to him and watched the screen (a television Botan had called it). Upon the screen were other tiny humans shooting grotesque, humanoid creatures with glowing eyes that growled like something from a nightmare. She cringed as one of them got close, making their face blow up on the screen and the sound of gunfire echoed in the living room. She turned to glance at the detective and bit her bottom lip before standing and moving, making her way into the kitchen. Keiko was busying herself with some breakfast for the group when the girl entered and she stayed out of the human female's way. She was still learning of everything in this world, like a child going outside for the first time, and she examined the pots and pans on the stove where the delicious scent of breakfast arose from. She moved to a chair and sat down, playing with the tip of her fingers.

The brunette noticed the female and smiled, shifting to the refrigerator and pulling it open. She grabs the bright green and white carton and pulling it out. She retrieves a cup from the cabinet above, bringing it down and pouring the carton's contents into it. Handing the cup over to the white haired woman, she watched as the girl took a sip and shivered before licking her lips and taking another sip from the cup. She felt as though the girl was going to ask what it was and the brunette smiled.

"It's called orange juice. It's good for you, especially in the mornings."

The girl nodded. She understood that.

The two girls were quiet, enjoying one another's company as Keiko moved about and made dinner for them. The girl wished to assist, but could not figure out what to do. Instead, she stayed glued to her seat even as Keiko called in the boys from the living room. As they entered and took their seats, conversation arose and the girl was lost once more. As they completed their meal, a ringing was heard from the living room and Yusuke groaned, rushing off and talking to something in the other room. Upon his return he pocketed the round item and nodded in the direction of his short fiery companion.

"That was Koenma. He wants to talk to her."

The female cringed and gulped. The Prince of Spirit World wished to attempt his interrogation of her now? She was just beginning to learn about this place. Would he rip her from there now? She bit her bottom lip and gulped, feeling the fire demon stand beside her and he nudged her. She stood, eyes finding her bare feet, as Hiei gripped her arm and lead her towards the awaiting portal in the living room with the blue haired reaper they had gone shopping with the day prior. She tensed, the feeling of the portal washing over her small frame and she closed her eyes, trying to hold herself to her spot and soon the whirring of the portal quiets and she opens her eyes and glances up behind her swept bangs and gulps, seeing the young toddler there. He looked up at them and she averted her gaze before she cringed at the sound of him clearing his throat. He invites her to take a seat, but she doesn't move, unsure of what to do. Her body shook with fear and Hiei, catching the feeling of fear radiating from the female, arched a brow.

"Thank you for coming." The toddler began, figuring that the female would not move, "I hope that you will be a bit more cooperative."

The female cringed.

"I understand that you are…afraid." Koenma says, straightening his back, "And I assure you that there is no reason for you to be so scared. I just want you to answer me as honestly as you can."

The female glanced at him, nibbling on her lip.

"Let us start easy." He said with a smile, "What is your name?"

Silence was the toddlers answer, but he did notice the tilt of the girl's head as though she were confused with his question. A thought sparked, his chocolate eyes sparking with it, as he hopped onto his desk, eyeing the silent girl. Something catches his eyes and he groans, learning that his assumption is correct, but before he voices it, Kurama and Kuwabara enter through the door.

"You called for us, Koenma?" the fox demon asked.

"Well, yes." The toddler answered, eyeing the girl, "I wanted to let you all know that what you stumbled across was indeed a harem. A brothel, if you will."

"That isn't news." Kuwabara spat, "Keeping women like that was obvious."

"Yes, Kuwabara, I understand that. However, what you do not know is that these girl were being…loaned out to both humans and demons alike. It seems that this demon has smuggled in various demons for his own purposes and used these women as payment."

The girl beside Hiei cringed.

"I also have learned that this demon goes by the name of Takeshi Konran. We've searched for aliases known and have found none, but by the way he has been able to collect such an amount of women and money, he must have another name. I would like to know if you, young lady, know of it."

She shook her head. The man they called Takeshi, a name she only heard in her younger years, was 'Master' to her. She did not call him by that name. Never. Because the one time she did, she will forever regret it.

"I see. Tell me, did you know his name was Takeshi?"

Nod.

"Did you know what he was doing?"

Hesitation before a shrug. She was unsure of most details, other than her role.

"Did you know your own purpose there?"

Nod.

"Are you a slave?"

The room went quiet and the girl shook before nodding. Slave. A word she was called affectionately once-upon-a-time. She trembled with her memories as Koenma spoke to the boys, filling them in on the details he had learned through their searches and soon all eyes were on the trembling girl. Hiei felt anger bubble in his chest, thoughts flitting through his mind of his sister being held by that bastard Tarukane, and suddenly the girl's actions and reactions made sense to him. Everything clicked.

He has been watching over a slave.

His mind reeled back to her actions. She refused to look people in the eyes, always averting her gaze from those talking to her, and the way a simple movement of the mattress would cause her to jerk upright in bed, face downcast and she would not question anything. The reason she did not speak-

"I would like to offer you safety." Koenma began, shaking Hiei from his thoughts, "It seems that, through questioning the human girls, that you were quite favoured among the men. Some of them may come looking for you and I wish to keep you safe until you are ready to actually speak with me."

The girl was quiet and swallowed, mind racing with thoughts.

"Yusuke, would you mind if she stayed with you and Keiko? I promise compensation as well."

The spirit detective scoffed.

"Fuck the compensation, man. I want to take that bastard down."

An agreement from his human companion could be heard.

"No man should treat a lady like he does. They're not sex toys. They're people."

"I would like to say that this demon's capture would be a priority before he starts another brothel."

Hiei stayed quiet as ideas were bounced between the four and he turned to look at the female besides him. She let her arm fall back to her side as he released it and she wrapped her arms around herself. He examined her and something caught his eye at her neck. He stepped in front of her and put a finger under her chin and forced her to tilt her head back. She complied, looking off to the side, and he examined what he found until he smirked, the amusement he had bubbling in his chest. He dropped his hand and turned, looking to the group and Koenma addressed the girl.

"What is your name?" he asked, "I did not give you the chance to answer before."

Hiei smirked.

"She is not going to answer you." He said, "She can't speak."

"Why do you think that, Shrimp?"

Crimson eyes turned upon the tall oaf, glaring at him in a menacing manner.

"Her neck you idiot. She has a scar. It looks like the bastard ripped out her throat."

Koenma's face paled.

"Show me." The toddler said, hopping off the desk and scurrying over to the girl who jumped and stepped back from the prince.

Hiei moved to the girl, grasping her arm and pushing her chin up again. She attempted to struggle and Koenma studied the girl's neck until he frowned and ran back to his desk, hopping up onto his chair and sorting through some papers.

"Well, that would have been helpful earlier." Yusuke said, looking over to the girl who seemed subconscious of the scar as she covered it with her hands, as though she were going to choke herself.

The meeting closed and they were sent back to Yusuke's apartment, the fox demon and his human friend joining them. The girl escaped from the room and hid in the kitchen where Keiko sat, reading something. She greeted the girl, marking her place and looking up to the girl only to frown. The girl would not look her way and she sat at the table, watching the table as though it were the most entertaining place in the world. She stood and stormed into the living room, calling for her fiancé and leaving the demon alone.

"Yusuke Urameshi!" roared the brunette, "What in the hell did you do?"

He turned, dodging an oncoming slap. He spluttered in surprise as he ducked from another attempt, jumping back out of the way and the brunette glared darkly at him and the other boys in the room.

"Keiko! What the hell is wrong with you?!" the detective growled.

"What did you all do to her? She looks traumatized!"

The boys turned, looking at one another.

"I can assure you that it was not Yusuke that upset her. I believe that she might be feeling shy and ashamed at what Spirit World has discovered." Kurama answered, "It seems that she was kept as a slave in a brothel."

The human female gaped, covering her mouth.

"The girl also may be mute." The fox demon continued, "It seems that there has been damage to her throat which is more than likely the reason as to why she does not speak."

The brunette took the information in as she continued to question them about what they had learned. Hiei slipped from the room and stood in the entrance of the kitchen and his crimson eyes fell on the female who sat there, staring at the table, and he arched a brow at the convulsion of the girl's shoulders. He stepped to her and she straightened her spine, turning with wide eyes to see who had entered. Silver flashed before crimson before disappearing behind the snowy locks and tears streaked down her cheeks. The girl looked away, hands coming up to wipe away the tears, and Hiei felt as though he was watching fragile glass crack and chip. He turned and exited the kitchen and disappeared into the room they shared, leaving her to her own devices. She was unstable, someone who cannot function properly without commands, and he refused to be like his comrades who would coddle anything that moves.

He wouldn't be a crutch for the weak.


	8. Like A Child

8. Like A Child

As Spirit World dug for the information required for the unmasking of this demon who was inhabiting the human realm, the group that had become so close through these types of missions began to come together more frequently. Unfortunately, as they did so, the mute demon drifted off into the shared room she shared with Hiei and continued to avoid them. When Koenma appeared with little to no leads, the female was nowhere to be found. Like a coward she would hide away unwilling to face the Prince of Spirit World after the information they were given. Finding the demon within the human world normally was an easier job when they had not established themselves among the human race, blending in to the point where they were literally incognito the whole time they were there. The group was going to get together and attempt to give some ideas as to where this demon could be in the Ningenkai, considering that the name Takeshi Konran did not bring up any kind of documents.

It was roughly about noon when Kuwabara and Kurama arrived, Yukina accompanying them, and Hiei sat upon his window sill and watched his sister walk in, an arm looped through the oaf's and he glared. They greeted the detective and his woman, making their way here to the living room and taking a seat, awaiting Koenma's arrival. The Spirit World Prince was working tirelessly to find the demon who seemed harmful to the female humans of the living world and a threat to Spirit World.

As the Prince finally arrived with his Pilot of the River Styx, the group began to toss ideas around, giving the woman in the room time to herself. The demon laid upon the bed, staring up at the ceiling as her finger tips traced the markings upon her throat, gulping as she relived the memory once more. It was like watching a scene occur again and again, unable to stop it and unwilling to change it, knowing that it would only be a false pretense. She laid upon the bed, unmoving as her thoughts drifted to a time when she was younger, still a simple fledgling demon, and thought of the marking upon her throat. She reminisced, silver eyes staring up at the ceiling as she inhaled and felt a prickle at her eyes, rubbing at them to halt the oncoming tears that threatened to fall. She rolled onto her side, eyes moving to the covered window and she laid still as voices seemed to grow in volume. An argument of some kind seemed to break out down the hall and soon she heard footsteps. Her body stilled as the door creaked open and the brunette peeked around the corner. She opened the door and entered, sighing at the young girl who laid still and she closed the door behind her, a small sad smile upon her face.

"Hey there." Keiko began, coming over tentatively, receiving no reaction, "Are you hungry?"

The female shifted, lifting her head to gaze at the small tray that the human female had brought to her and she sat up, rubbing at her silver eyes. She was suddenly weak and tired and she gave a small smile in return as she sat up, cross legged on the bed. Keiko came forward and held the try out to the demon, glad to see her move.

"I know this must be hard. You probably didn't live like this before."

Silver eyes averted their gaze to the window as the girl frowned.

"I hope that you'll come out soon. I like having another girl in the house. It's usually just the boys and me, depending on the case and who it involves. I miss living with another female."

The demon glanced at Keiko, taking the tray and placing it in her lap as she reached for the bowl that contained some delicious smelling food and the girl lifted the hot bowl to her mouth and sipped gently at the broth, reveling in the ramen mixture.

"Besides," Keiko continued, "We only want to help you."

The demon glanced at the girl and frowned. She was beyond anyone's help now. She was a claimed item, belonging to her Master who was surely working on getting her back as she sat here watched as though he would emerge from the shadows and grab her. She shivered, refusing to doubt her Master's abilities as she remembered her own being taken from her and she looked up at Keiko, this compassionate human female who smiled at her as though she had worth, wanting nothing more than to cry. Tears lashed at her eyes as she looked away and placed the bowl on the tray again. She wasn't able to be helped anymore. Even Master had told her that. She was a worthless piece of trash; a whore only for the amusement of his clients now. She lost all value to him the moment her voice was lost to her and he made sure she knew that. He engrained the services into her, determined to teach her a lesson and he did.

A tear escaped her, trailing down her cheek as she was lost in her thoughts and Keiko frowned, wondering if she had upset her. As she girl's shoulders convulsed, she closed her eyes and Keiko moved, pulling the tray from the girl and placing it on the dresser behind her before making her way onto the bed and reaching for the girl, pulling her to her as more tears escaped the frail girl's hold and she lost her composure. Keiko held the girl, stroking the snowy locks that were loose, holding the girl as she cried. The tears that fell dropped onto the pale blue blouse that Keiko was wearing and she frowned, holding the child like woman to her and she glanced at the door.

"It's okay." She tried to coo, "You don't have to feel sad anymore. Koenma won't send you back."

The convulsion of the shoulders occurred and Keiko felt odd, the girl was crying but there was no sound. No gasping or sobs escaped the girl as she cried and she felt as though she should be angry. The demon who brought this girl to this point deserved nothing more than to be caught and tried, freeing this poor demon from her torment.

"I know that it's going to be hard, but I would like to help you…"

She was rambling now, attempting to find something to give the girl to look forward to.

"I'll help teach you things. I know it is hard to change habits, and I won't ask you to, but maybe we can help you keep you from his hands and be a human here in the Living World."

The girl wasn't following, half understanding Keiko's words, but the tone and kindness in her voice began to calm her. She laid in the arms of the female, grateful for her kindness and eventually pulled away, rubbing at her eyes. She wasn't supposed to cry and had Master walked in, he would have given her a reason to cry until she could no longer cry. She sniffed and glanced back at the ramen bowl and crawled to the edge of the bed, climbing off and grabbing the bowl before sitting back down and sipping at it. Keiko took this as a good sign and smiled.

"Whenever you're ready to come out, please do." She said, standing and moving to the door, "Everyone needs space. Just don't forget to eat."

With a flash of a smile, she disappeared from the door and the demon ate the food that the human placed before her. Not having a choice but to eat whenever Master had permitted her, she was thankful for the food, her appetite slowly returning as she ate on a daily basis again. She finished off the food and placed the bowl on the tray, climbing back onto the bed and glancing down at herself. The black tank top which adorned her torso complimented the grey sweat pants she had upon her legs. She did not have a hat on today, simply lying in bed most of the time, so her hair was frizzy atop her head and her feet were bare. The female admitted that she seemed to look nice with these clothes on and she let a small smile creep upon her face.

_Whenever you're ready to come out, please do so._

Should she go out there? Out where those people can talk to her as though she were little again, trying to console her by their pitying looks? Should she attempt to face the Prince of Spirit World and his men who continuously look to her as though she was able to assist them? Should she dare to make herself known?

Could she endure the fear?

Yes, she admitted, she was afraid. She was scared of what those men might think, picturing her as though she were still there, naked and bare before them. Afraid that they each imagined her doing provocative things, whoring herself out to them as she had done to the men her Master sent to her and she shivered at the thought. She was supposed to make herself a good slut for the clients her Master sent, so should any of those men outside wish to do the same, she could very well do it and yet she felt that her Master would not approve of those actions. She was his own personal whore to give out and she knew that without some kind of order, she was not to give any of these men an ounce of sexual gratification. She was His and His alone. No one else's.

And yet, her Master had not come for her yet.

She figured that being taken by force, her Master would have come for her. She knew that he owned her; she was his only slave, after all, and yet he had not come for her yet. These boys looked for him, wanting to get something back from him. They wanted to get something her Master had possibly stolen from Spirit World and now she was stuck here, a slave without the guidance of the Master she was raised to serve.

What was she to do now?

She felt like a child.

A lost and scared little girl.


	9. Script

**A/N: Hey guys! Hope I still have some readers. I really am happy to see that there are still some readers reviewing and I want ya'll to know I do read them and I take any sort of criticism to heart. By the way, I've actually got this story pretty nicely planned. Now if I can only execute it right. :P  
**

**Please Review! It really does help me alot.**

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**9. Script**

The next day came around and Hiei awoke beside the woman who was forcefully mute, sitting up in bed and scowling as the girl jerked up, bowing her head and sitting still. She never laid beneath the blanket and he was grateful for that, but her routine to wake up thoroughly aggravated him. She had almost no thought of the fact that he laid beside her the pass evening, wanting to sleep on a comfortable mattress. It was rare that he had the urge, but he really just wanted a bed to sleep in. Now, she was making him regret it. The fire demon rose out of bed, making his way to the bathroom to go through his morning routine and change. As he did so, the girl sat crisscrossed on the bed, staring at the door with tired eyes. She cried so much yesterday as she realized she did not have any sort of worth without her Master around and the amount of sleep she finally got wasn't enough. Her eyes drooped and her head nodded as she fought sleep, finally lying back down as Hiei watched her, quirking a brow at her actions and before he knew it, she seemed to be asleep once more. He knew that the female was strange but now she seemed to be acting as though the life was being drained from her. He scowled and made his way out the door to the living room where, to his surprise, Koenma and Kurama sat chatting with a drowsy Yusuke.

"Oh, Hiei." Kurama said, the first to notice the fire demon's arrival, "Good Morning."

"Hn." The fire demon responded, nodding his head in return.

The three continued their conversation and Hiei listened in. According to Koenma, there had been a lead on the demon they were after when he received a note. One of their comrades in the Makai sent it to inform the Prince that the artifact they had been searching for was actually giving off energy signals in the plains of demon world near Gandara.

"If that is so, then I must go to assist Yomi." Kurama stated, standing.

"Yomi knows." Koenma interjected, "I wanted to tell you all that the artifact is actually deep within the caves of Gandara and I'm a bit skeptical to send you out there. It is not a known area, even to Yomi."

Kurama nodded.

"Hn. The fox can lead the damned way." Hiei retorted, rolling his crimson eyes.

"Yes, well," Koenma said, clearing his throat, "I wanted to see if you all would be interested in going?"

Yusuke scratched his head and yawned.

"Yup. But after I wake up, Binky Breath."

"Very well."

"Forgive the ignorance, Koenma," Kurama interrupted, "What of the girl we are supposed to be protecting?"

Hiei scowled. Only the damned fox would bring up the woman in the bedroom. The infuriating woman who seemed to be so dysfunctional that she could not think of herself. He glared at the red headed fox demon, who glanced at him with those irksome eyes of emerald that held some sort of information within them.

"Ah, yes." Koenma said, remembering the demoness, "Well, I would say take her with you but I am afraid that this might lead to the guy who would undoubtedly take her back if given the opportunity. It would be best to keep her here. I can always leave Kuwabara in charge of watching her."

"PFFT HAHAHAHA!"

The detective seemed more amused than anyone as he burst into a fit of laughter.

"Leave that moron with a sex slave?!" he wheezed, "That's the funniest thing I've heard in the past three years!"

Hiei snorted, "It would be idiotic to give that oaf the charge of the woman and I refuse to be stuck here."

"Well, if I send Kuwabara with you, I could always stay and try to talk with her. It would give me the opportunity to get some kind of information from her."

The conversation continued until an agreement was made and the group dispersed. Yusuke waited for his fiancé's return to tell her everything that would be happening and that, yes, he'd be leaving for the Makai again. No, not for another year, Keiko. Yes, it's for a mission. Koenma will be here to help with the chick Hiei's been watching. I don't know. I don't know. I'll be back. Yup, he was just imagining that conversation, even as she came through the doors. He called her to the kitchen and they talked.

While the Detective did damage control with his woman, Hiei moved off towards the room he shared with the mute demoness and he stepped in, eyes scanning the room. A bundle of white was splayed on the bed, her hair behind her as she laid, curled into a ball still in the silk pajamas she had worn to bed the night before. She had not gotten up nor had she moved and the fire demon glared at her. What was her problem?

Then, he noticed her shoulders convulse and he rolled his crimson eyes. The stupid woman was crying. It was then that he realized the deafening silence of her cries. Nothing could be heard that would indicate that she was crying. She didn't even sniffle like the human females when they cried and he found himself just watching her. Her shoulders convulsed two more times before she sat up and whipped around, finally realizing that he was in the room with her. With wide silver eyes she watched him for only a moment before averting her gaze and looking down at her silk covered knees. Her eyes were not blood shot, but she rubbed at them and Hiei had to wonder what it was she was thinking about. Stepping forward, he stood before her and reached out, touching her forehead with the tips of his fingers—

_It was dark where he had found himself and as he glanced around, he heard something similar to that of chains. Eyes scanned the area until a bright white light blinded him and suddenly he felt himself being yanked forward. The rattling chains seemed to attach themselves to him and when he was finally able to see, he was in a luxurious room. With an arched brow, he stood and felt something beneath his feet. He looked down and noticed that it wasn't his feet he was feeling, but someone else's. Beneath those feet, was a fuzzy bed like that an animal in the Living world would have to sleep on. He glared before hearing something opening. Looking up, he saw the door open and suddenly he bowed. _

_ "Draw a bath." _

_ That voice was familiar. As he ducked towards the adjacent room, he found a small bucket and grabbed at it, going to fill it with water from the faucet nearby and filled the larger, wooden basin, that was above a layer of what seemed to be coal. Once the basin was completely filled, he lit the coal beneath it and felt a jerk of motion when he was tugged backwards. _

_ "Undress." _

_ Hiei's insides were already tight and ready to fight, but instead of turning around and ripping the throat out of the one giving commands, the hands he had moved to the hem of a beige looking piece of cloth and he pulled it up over his head. A murmur of approval seemed to come from the one whose voice was familiar and soon he was forcefully turned and forced to look up._

_ And his blood felt as though it was ice._

_ That magenta eyed bastard that they had fought merely a week ago, and lost to, was standing there, a smug look on his face as his eyes, an ungodly hue of pink, trailed down to his naked body. With a growl, the fire demon went to push the filthy bastard away and yet he did not have control over this body. Instead, tears seemed to cloud his vision as the man instructed the body he was in to get into the tub and it did just that. _

_ And that's when he had to look down. _

_ His reflection was not that of himself with his crimson eyes and black hair, but instead the reflection of that girl who was mute. Silver eyes with flecks of mint green looked back at him and white wavy locks tumbled into the water before he felt himself being touched. A cringe and a whimper, more than the girl had ever done before, had escaped the body he was in and soon he was fighting the hands and touches. He suddenly felt as though he were being violated and soon the scene became black as a scream echoed. _

He pulled back from the girl, gasping. Looking up at her with his wide crimson eyes, she covered her head with her arms as though he were going to attack her. Mouth open in a silent scream, she began to flail and his stomach churned as he imagined the way the memory was headed and with a gasping gulp he stood straight, moving from the girl to the window. The bastard that was originally a target was the Master of the girl, this much he knew, but he had never experienced it like that. When going into one's mind and memories, he usually sees them from a third person's point of view, not through the person's eyes. He shuddered at the thought of that disgusting excuse for a demon's hands upon his body like he felt it and then he remembered the scream. Was that the moment where he torn her voice box from her throat?

Hiei turned from the window and watched her curl up into a ball as she calmed. This demon seemed so weak, and yet he felt as though he might be able to understand. He never had such a connection to one's memory before until he witnessed a piece of her past through her own eyes. He sighed. What was this girl? He realized that he really did not know much of who or what she was. Not that he cared, but when you're being the guardian to some female demon, it might be wise to know a bit about her and what she may be capable of. He watched as her convulsions stopped and she seemed to relax, falling into a slumber that he was sure to be a continuation of the nightmare he experienced in her mind. Another shudder ripped through him and he moved to the bathroom, wanting the burn away the sensations he felt, never more disgusted with a being as he was with this man.

He stepped out from the hour long shower, feeling refreshed and cleansed. Donning a set of night clothes, he entered the main part of the bedroom once more where he found the female tossing and turning about, face contorting in various ways and he hesitated to step forward, unwilling to feel what she had felt at the time it was happening. Crimson eyes looked on as she curled up into a ball and stilled once more and Hiei knew that he should take the window seat that evening. He made his way to the window and hopped upon the sill, looking out at the darkening sky when he let his thoughts wander onto their own paths. Eventually, he fell into a comfortable slumber and dreamed of nothing but the darkness.

* * *

"'Kay. We ready or what Urameshi?"

Kuwabara turned to look at his friend, wondering if they were ever going to get this mission going. For the past week they had prepared for this mission and now that the SDF lug heads had opened the portal to demon world, he was waiting to see if the others were prepared for this journey. He had only seen the demon world once and that was with the fight with Sensui where he thought he had lost his best friend. With a sigh he turned, looking at the three he usually teamed up with. Hiei was standing with his eyes closed, looking slightly irked at the long wait it had taken to get to demon world. Kurama was looking at the portal and Kuwabara could almost believe that the demon was almost excited to return to the planes of the Makai and for a moment he felt betrayed. All of his comrades were demons and he was simply a human. All the years of being weaker than his friends had brought this to the forefront as Yusuke bid Keiko farewell and moved to them.

"Yeah. You ready?"

"Hn. Let's go." Hiei grunted.

"Yes, we should go." Kurama agreed with a smile.

"Yup." Kuwabara replied.

Moments passed as the four awaited the sign to go through the portal and as Shun-jun gave them the go-ahead, Yusuke nods. They step through one by one with Yusuke in the lead and Kuwabara bringing up the rear. Before the eyes of those they loved they were gone, leaving the living world to venture on into the demon realm.

* * *

Days passed after the boys' departure and Keiko was giving Koenma as much as she could to keep him comfortable in the apartment she rented with her fiancé. With meals made and set for him, he felt as though he was imposing. It was passed a month after the silent demon came to the human world and he wanted to give her an opportunity to give her side of the story, but was unsure how. A week passed before his father summoned him for a conference and he bid his human host farewell to meet with him.

Being alone with the demon did not scare Keiko, especially since she was in love with a demon herself, and she tried to find a ground to start with the girl, hoping to bring out a more joyous side to her. With an idea blooming on the horizon, she sat down at the table with the demoness who was mute and smiled at her.

"I know that you can't speak, so I have an idea if you're willing to try it?"

She smiled as the demoness tilted her head in confusion.

"Do you know how to write?"

The girl shook her head.

"I can teach you. That way you can talk for yourself without having to wonder if we understand you."

A brilliant idea. The demoness was content and willing to learn and Keiko opened a notebook, beginning the lessons. She taught the demon the alphabet first, showing her how to write the twenty six letters out. She repeated this lesson for the next few days, seeing Koenma come in and out of the apartment frequently as she taught the girl words and phrases. She wanted her to learn how to structure a sentence and luckily, she seemed to understand. Short phrases were their lesson on the second week the boys were gone and Keiko had not seen Koenma once that day. She silently prayed that her fiancé and friends were okay when the demoness yawned. She chuckled and smiled, saying that it was time for a break. The mute woman nodded, grateful for Keiko's kind and gentle nature towards her and she wandered into the living room.

She sat on the sofa, a term that Keiko had taught her in one of her lessons, and flexed her fingers relieving her hands of the ache she felt from holding the pencil. She eyes drooped, her sleepless nights catching up to her and she laid down, curling up on the couch before closing her silver eyes and drifting off to a gentle sleep.

* * *

"Damn it!"

Yusuke's roar echoed off the small merchant stall and he growled with anger as the merchant says that the item he received was given to him in Tourin as he passed by another caravan and she came to Gandara, selling it off to a woman who seemed interested in the artifact for the simple fact that it looked amazing. He was pissed. This damned artifact had escaped them a second time and he stormed off as Kurama thanked the merchant, following his comrades as they made their way out of the merchant districts back towards Yomi's luxurious fortress, Yusuke grumbling the whole way.

* * *

As the day came to a close, Takeshi Konran eyed the dwindling light of the sky as he smirked, thinking about the plan he has sent in order. His little slave has yet to return, and he knew that she was still in the grip of Spirit World. Luckily, she did not know of anything more than simple basics of how to bathe herself and how to please a man. He laughed at the idea of the Spirit World ruler attempting to interrogate her, completely failing because she could no longer speak, that ability taken away after her bout of disobedience years before. He had taught her a lesson that day and it seemed that he would have to teach her another lesson this time around.

A slave is to stay with their Masters. She knew it. And she wasn't here.

Sure, he could argue that the girl did not know her way around the city, because she didn't, but he was the Master. He owned her and his anger towards the group that stole her and his business away from him was bubbling to the surface as his informant closes in on the girl and he wanted nothing more than to teach the fucking slut a damned good lesson. He needed a release of some kind and she was usually his outlet. Today, he needed her to use and she was not here. Another lesson to teach her, the damned bitch.

Gods, he couldn't wait to get his hands on her.

Living in the human world as Seiji Rei, he was virtually undetected by the Spirit World cronies. He was safe from their attempted search and he was glad. Once he took back what was his, he would make it so that she was invisible in this city again and wait a few more months before starting up another brothel with his whore as the main attraction.

* * *

"You've really improved."

The times has passed to the point where it had almost been a month since Yusuke and the others had left and Keiko was growing to love the girl like her own child. She was excited to see her improvement in her writing. The girl could now write out her desires and wishes through pen and paper, expressing herself to the human female and Keiko felt a sense of pride. She could now communicate with the boys when they returned. She knew this was great and although Koenma had ceased to return, calling and checking in on the two due to information sent by the boys a day or so ago, she was sure that the girl would be able to answer any questions Koenma had to ask.

* * *

"Ah, Daisuke…" Takeshi greeted the demon before him, "What news do you bring?"

The demon before him gave a twisted grin, his slim yet muscular build showing through the tight black suit he wore. His hair, a pale platinum blonde, was straight and tied back and shifted as he looked up at the magenta eyed demon. He was a shinobi, a demon trained in the art of being a ninja and he was working mostly as an assassin in demon world, called by Takeshi after the raid. His light blue eyes shone with a mischievous spark.

"The little whore you sent me after…I've located her."


	10. Return of the Artifact

**A/N: I'm appreciating the feedback as it is only making my desire to write this stronger and stronger. I will admit these chapters are coming more frequently ever since I began to plan them, but I will give you all a heads up and an update right now.**

For those of you who sent me wishes for my grandmother, I thank you so much. I really do because she has finally recovered enough to come home. I was so overwhelmed with emotion and I just could not think of anyone who had given me much assistance and understanding as my family and my readers so I thank you for that. 

**Another thing would be that I'm coming to the end of my semester and so I might have longer periods in between posts because I'm hitting the books pretty dang hard. **

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**10. Return of the Artifact**

Yusuke sighed as he walked through Alaric's merchant district. The Demon Lord Mukuro was not very pleased with their sudden appearance, disrupted from a training session with her men when they had arrived. Hiei had smirked at her disgruntled form, amused by her annoyance at them. Kurama and Yusuke informed her of the circumstances and the Demon Lord sniffed.

"If one is so ignorant to bring a Spirit World artifact into my territory, then be my guest. I'm not going to stop you. Just don't cause a catastrophe." \

Yup. Good ol' Mukuro.

Now, they were wandering the district, Hiei and Kurama feeling out for the energy the artifact was said to give out when Kurama stopped, turning towards a path leading to some side stands. Emerald green eyes narrowed as he studied the path and stepped forward, Yusuke and the gang a step behind him. Hiei soon felt the same energy Kurama did and followed the group down the pathway until they came across a merchant talking with a young demon female. The girl was leaning against the stand's frame and she was chatting with the merchant, nodding her head towards a piece of jewelry. She donned a bright blue blouse that had sleeves which belled out around the elbow and over it was a black leather waist cincher. Her hair tumbled down in waves and curls to the middle of her back. Bits and strands of her hair framed her face, giving her such an innocent look. Upon her hips was a deep cobalt sash that tied at the back, holding to her a small hide pouch which she currently had her hand over, semi-protective of the small bag. Her legs sported a pair of white pants which fanned out at the knees, giving the appearance of a skirt. Her feet were in beige slip-ons and she seemed to be getting a bit aggravated.

"There." Kurama finally said, his emerald eyes drifting to her hips.

The other three boys looked down to the girl's hip and in a sheath was the artifact they had been searching for. It had a faint blue glow to the hilt and the wearer stomped.

"It's all I have!" she said, her deep sapphire blue eyes widen with a pleading tone, "You can't knock it down a few more Bits?"

"Not happening. Just cuz you're good lookin' don't mean imma give you items for dirt cheap."

The female seemed upset and sighed, turning from the stand and stopping as her eyes fell upon the four boys who were watching her. She tilted her head to the side and stepped back, an alarm in her ears as she noticed that they were staring down towards her new collective item. She stepped back, knees bending as she considered her options.

Kurama was the second to notice her stance and he went to say something when Hiei disappeared from his side, appearing behind the girl. The merchant backed away and watched with wide, fearful eyes. The demon turned, eyeing the short male who seemed to teleport behind her and she looked back and forth between him and the group he arrived with before turning towards the merchant and darting that way, propelling herself over the stand's table. She broke out into a run, trying to remove herself from the district.

Hiei rolled his eyes as his three companions shouted after her and he followed them, half-heartedly. Yusuke was gaining on her, his training with Hokushin paying off, and he yelled after her to stop. The female glanced behind her, gasping at the short distance between herself and Yusuke and she leaps into the air. She propels herself up and the boys stop, watching her float in the sky.

"A wind demon." Kurama stated, standing beneath her.

"Damn it." Yusuke cursed, glaring at the girl.

"Who are you?"

Yusuke face palmed. Where was this chick two, almost three, years ago when the demon tournament, which he had created, took place? Did she not know who he was? He looked up at her and frowned. She seemed innocent enough.

"Miss," Kurama called up to her, "You are in possession of a stolen artifact from Spirit World and we've come to retrieve it."

The poor thing almost fell from the sky.

"S-stolen?" she stuttered, "This? B-but I bought it in Gandara like a week ago?"

Hiei rolled his eyes and moved from behind the group, using his speed to scale a mountainous hill behind her and he pushed himself off the side, reaching out and grabbing at the female. Surprise caused her focus to dwindle and the two fell towards the earth below until they hit the ground, Hiei on top of the girl, holding her down.

"Oww." She whimpered.

"HIEI!" Kuwabara shrieked, "THAT'S NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY!"

The fire demon glared at the idiotic buffoon.

* * *

"I see."

So, the former Spirit Detective of the Living world was harboring his slave. He tapped his fingers on his desk as he let his thoughts wander to two things. One: How to get his slave back. And Two: What delightful things could he do to her once she was returned to him? He felt as though he were a giddy child, imagining the many things he could do with the ungrateful slut.

Daisuke, the shinobi wind demon who he had employed to locate his property had also reported that she was dressing in a tomboyish fashion; pants, shirts and hats, etc. This information had infuriated him. He had always kept her naked, ready to be used when he wished, and this infraction against his own rules made him want to get her back as soon as possible. With the information Daisuke had given him, he was sure that the group would still be looking for him and suddenly, he snapped his fingers, calling for Daisuke in order to reveal this tidbit of information to the shinobi.

* * *

"Hey Binky Breath!"

Koenma glared as he looked up from the pile of paper work he had accumulated during the visits he took to see the demon female who could not speak. Yusuke was the first person he saw and he huffed.

"What have I told you about that?" the toddler Prince retorted.

"Yeah, yeah." Yusuke spat, "Look what we brought you."

Stepping to the side, Kurama walked in with a female in tow, her hands behind her back and Koenma quirked a brow. This female looked young for a demon and absolutely innocent. She seemed to be teary eyed and flustered as Kuwabara came in behind them, holding the sheathed dagger.

"The artifact!" Koenma cheered.

Hiei was the last to enter the large office like area.

"The girl claims she bought it from a merchant in Gandara." Kurama reports as the girl cringes.

"I did!" she says, looking at the small sized ruler, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you I didn't know that it was s-stolen!"

Kuwabara frowned.

"C'mon guys. Give her a break."

"Hn. Yes, because she is of the opposite sex we should just let her go and believe her story."

"That's enough." Koenma demands, turning his attention to the woman, "Who did you buy this from?"

"I-I don't know his name." she admitted, "But it looked so cool…I liked the blue glow. So I bought it for eight hundred Bits. Unfortunately, it left me short on Bits for actual food."

"Hmm…I see. Unfortunately, I will have to write a report up for you. Being in possession of a highly guarded artifact is dangerous."

"But I didn't know…" she whimpered.

Koenma glanced the female over and sighed. He called in Botan who bounded in and inquired as to what he needed of her.

"Please locate the file for Miss…" he trailed off, looking at the demon woman, "What is your name?"

The girl seemed to shake under his stared, "W-Wisp."

"Bring me our file on Miss Wisp, here."

"Yes, Sir!"

The reaper flitted away, exiting the room.

* * *

"That's a brilliant idea." The shinobi chimed in, "When shall I execute such an idea?"

Takeshi was smirking. It was a dangerous smirk, one full of a hidden malice and twisted ideas that he was finalizing in his mind, "As soon as we can. I want to get my hands on her, now."

* * *

"Hmmm...Your file is practically clean."

Koenma could hardly believe the records of the young woman, finding it hard to believe that a female who would collect things like daggers that looked cool and even flee at the sight of his team as though she had done something wrong was absolutely innocent. He glanced up at the six people in his office, Botan standing a bit off to the side, and cleared his throat.

"I will dismiss this charge," he began, "But the dagger is going to be placed back in my father's vault."

The girl frowned.

"Eight hundred Bits down the drain…" came her saddened murmur.

"For now, I do wish to get descriptions of the merchant you bought it from. Feel free to head home boys. And Hiei, the girl has been decently taken care of."

"Hn. Like I care." The fire demon grunted, rolling his crimson eyes as he exited the office.

* * *

"We're home!"

Keiko and the young sound demon jumped. Both had been in the kitchen, Keiko beginning to cook dinner and the demoness assisting in any way she could. Keiko was the first to move, happily cheering for the return of her fiancé.

"Welcome home!"

The brunette wrapped her arms around Yusuke, glad for his return. Although she wasn't alone this time, she still longed for her fiancé to return. She was glad that he was safe and as he returned the warm embrace, the mute woman emerged from around the corner, her notebook in her hands. Hiei eyed the spiral bound book, arching a brow in curiosity when Keiko turned, motioning the girl to her.

"While you were away, I taught her how to write!" Keiko explained proudly, "She's able to communicate on a basic level now."

Yusuke snickered.

"What are ya' a damned teacher, Keiko?" he teased.

She huffed at him, reaching out to smack him. Yusuke dodged, a boisterous laugh escaping him as he made his way towards the kitchen where the smell of food drifted from. The group moved to the kitchen and sat down to eat after Keiko served the food. The white haired woman ate, watching Keiko and Yusuke interact with one another. She studied them, confused as to why this male rather enjoyed the company of the brunette beside him who seemed to enjoy smacking him. Never having experienced anything but sexual contact with a male, she was confused as to what humans considered such communication and actions to be. Being in captivity all of her life, it was strange to see such emotion and actions between a male and female. The dinner passed with joyous conversation between the lovers, Yusuke trying to involve Hiei every once in a while, and as Keiko set the dishes to wash, she emerged to find Yusuke lounging on the couch, watching TV. The white haired maiden had retreated to her room and Keiko moved Yusuke's feet so she could sit down on the couch. He sits up and she leans towards him, laying her head on his shoulder.

The sickening emotions these two were expressing were thick enough to gag Hiei. He got up from his spot on the window sill and he moved towards the bedroom he shared with the women when he hesitated to enter. The memories he had seen, had felt, through her own eyes made him shiver for a moment and he wondered if he should just leave. The artifact was returned and the woman could not correspond with the Prince of Spirit World should he come asking questions. Sure, the damned demon wasn't caught yet, but he was sure that the female would not be touched.

After all, how could he possibly know she was here?

A knot in his gut changed his mind.

He entered the room and took notice of the female who was sitting on the bed, knees drawn up as she scribbled something upon the papers within the notebook she had laid against her knees. He watched her for a few moments before stepping in, closing the door behind him. Her eyes flickered up at him, a daring move on her part, before returning to the paper before her. He was relieved to not have to find some form of entertainment for the female and he made his way to the window, hopping upon the sill before looking out. The leaves were beginning to brown, autumn finally making its appearance. He leaned back and simply let his mind wander as the girl finished what she was doing before she stood and located some of her night clothes to change into. Eventually she climbed into bed and laid down, succumbing to the darkness that edged her into a deep slumber.

* * *

The following morning, the occupants of the apartment awoke, going through daily routines and even having a nice breakfast together. It was about eleven when Koenma showed up, greeting them. He informed them that he had let Kurama and Kuwabara know to come over as soon as possible because he had some new information on the magenta eyed demon who thwarted their attempts at bringing him in a few months ago. Thirty minutes passed before everyone was assembled and Koenma began his briefing.

"As it turns out, this demon has been seen in the industrial side of Mushiori. We've been watching him and my sources have found that he is in a warehouse down there."

"So…What are we waiting for?" Kuwabara asked.

"I'm with Kuwabara," Yusuke agreed, "Give us the place. I want to wipe the floor with this asshole."


	11. To Save a Life

**A/N: Dear Goddess, I have a strange feeling that I'm about to be flamed for this...o.o;;; This one and the next one are a bit of a dozy. Please, let me know of your thoughts my lovely readers. It gives me fuel to write more.  
Please don't be a silent reader! **

* * *

**11. To Save a Life**

The day went by as Takeshi awaited for the arrival of the Spirit World team who he had heard so much about from other demons who came to him for the services he provided through his slave. A member of four males; a human, two demons and a Mazoku, that have not only claimed victory in the Dark Tournament almost three years ago but also established the Makai Tournament which was the way that the Demon King was chosen. The last winner, Enki, has kept peace with the rulers of Spirit World, making it so that there was no fighting between the worlds and demons were free to come and go as they please. He had to admit that the barrier being down helped his business thoroughly and he was surely miffed by the atrocious this team has made towards his business.

But now, as Takeshi watched the sun set through the warehouse window, he was going to make these boys regret taking from him what was his. Had they simply taken away the human females and his business he could manage, but to take his slave; **his** whore, well they were officially asking for a fight. Being a businessman, it has been a long time since he's had to fight anyone, let alone demons, but with this group coming, he knew all he had to do was distract them. An hour. That's all the time that he needed to hold them off for. A twinge in his stomach made him smirk as he sensed the immense energies coming towards him. Turning, he made a grab for the female who squealed, struggling against his grip. She whimpered and moved as he forced her along the catwalk, turning to stare down at the doorway that was the entrance to this hellhole of a place.

And that's when the door was kicked in.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Kuwabara asked, turning to look at his comrades, his black beady eyes looking at his Mazoku counterpart, "This looks pretty run down."

"Hn. His energy is coming from this building." Hiei retorted, crimson eyes glaring at the door.

"This is it." Kurama confirmed, "Shall we?"

Yusuke smirked, "Allow me."

He turned and with a swift movement, he kicked the door in. Metal slammed against metal as the four boys rush in and find an almost empty warehouse. Kurama was the first to locate their suspect and he alerts his friends to the whereabouts of Takeshi. Kuwabara growls, seeing the girl in Takeshi's hands who he now held in front of him like a shield.

"Ah, so you've come after me?" Takeshi said, feigning ignorance, "I am glad that I was prepared just in case."

"Freeze, ya' fucker!" Yusuke spits, "You are under arrest for breaking the laws for both the Makai and Spirit World. You're coming with us."

The magenta eyed demon scoffed at first, soon breaking into a full out laughter as she thought about their job here. It was ludicrous! They honestly believed that they were going to bring him in to face some sort of judgment for simply running a legitimate business? Sure, by human standards it's inhuman, but then Takeshi was not human to even care to follow their rules and law.

"What's so funny?!" Kuwabara screeches.

The dark haired demon quells his laughter, a malicious grin spreading across his lips as he looks down upon these children, his grip tightening on the female in his grasp and as she whimpered, he snickered. He retorted with a proposal. Should they actually injure him to the point where he could no longer fight, he'd go ahead without a fight or disappearance. He grinned and beckoned them to begin their assault, starting the timer in his head.

An hour. That's all he needed.

Just an hour.

* * *

The boys had left about eleven that morning, heading out to the industrial district that the demon who had held this demon woman captured for so long and Keiko sighed as she sat on the couch, smiling at the white haired maiden. She watched as the girl scribbled in the notebook, showing Keiko what she wrote every now and again, seeing if what she had written was correct. By this stage, Keiko noticed that the girl's handwriting was smooth and elaborate at times. She dared to think that the girl had the type of handwriting that could be calligraphy. She turned on the television, flipping through channels a bit bored as she waited for the laundry to finish in the washer. Time seemed to pass slowly, but Keiko kept herself busy with cleaning and talking to the young demon that she barely realized that it was growing dark. Setting the last load of laundry to dry, she heard a commercial come on the TV and she meandered into the kitchen to pull out pants to begin dinner.

As she deliberated on what to make, simply staring at the pots and pans on the table, the girl heard the slam of the door and she jumped. She grasped a frying pan in her hand and moved towards the door way, gulping as she saw a tall male in her living room, back to her as he looked onto the white haired female. Keiko was frozen for a moment as she watched; the girl scrambling in the seat she was in. At one point she actually tipped the recliner back and fell. Her legs still thrashed and she back pedaled from the intruder, her eyes wide as she looked up at him with fear. Something inside of Keiko snapped and she moved forward as silently as she could before she was behind him and she brought the frying pan against his head. The male shouted, falling to his knees as Keiko began to assail him, slamming the pan against any form of him that she could. At one point she stopped and the male groaned.

Turning, she made her way to the frightened demon and grabbed her hand, lifting her up from the ground and she looked about as to where to go. Glimpsing at the male for the first time, Keiko could assume that he was not a human. His eyes a blue that rivaled the brightness of a clear sky on a warm summer day and she gulped, pulling the female towards the corridor that lead to the room, sure that they could escape through the window. Unfortunately the demon had other plans and stood as the two were heading for the small corridor and Keiko turned, holding up the frying pan in her defense.

"Go." She said over her shoulder to the white haired demon, "Hide."

The girl hesitated but nodded, turning and fleeing down the hall to her room. She ducked into the washroom she shared with Hiei when she heard the clang of the pan hitting something a few more times. She shook as she stood in the middle of the bathroom as she attempted to find a spot to hide.

* * *

The four boys were having difficulties fighting this damned demon and Hiei was getting so damn sick of having to dodge a ball of electricity. He was fast, sure, but the rate at which Takeshi was throwing the balls of reddish-orange electricity at them, Hiei could barely keep up. His katana was still in its sheath, the metal only going to attract the electricity that was being hurled at them and his companions were not fairing off much better. He, Yusuke and Kurama were restricted by Spirit World laws to withhold their energies below a certain level and should they actually use their full potentials, they could very well be banished from the human world, making the peace that they had finally obtained between the three worlds for nothing. He gritted his teeth and continued to fight, attempting to get closer to the demon who was using the crying human female as a shield. He was pushed back by another attack, falling to his knees as he cringed from the burning sear that seemed to erupt from his shoulder which was hit.

Yusuke shot another Spirit Gun, grunting as he held the lock on his demon energy as much as he could. He watched Hiei hit the ground and growled, his vision heightening as his Mazoku blood pulsed, urging him to use the energy beneath his spiritual energy and he shouted as he propelled himself forward, ready to hit the bastard head on when he turned and all Yusuke could see was the girl who was crying. He backed off and yelled as he was hit by a flying Kuwabara who had been hit head on with the electrical ball of energy and they tumbled to the ground.

* * *

Despite being human, Keiko was really fending off this demon. She knew that the codes had changed since Yusuke had gone to demon world and she wondered if he was trying to abide by those codes. She could only assume that he was here to take the female who was hiding away. She gasped as she ran towards the television, ducking as he seemed to throw a ball of air at her. Crap. She really needed Yusuke to come home right about now. She ran from behind the couch, towards the TV and turned, flinging her weapon towards the turning demon. He howled in pain when it connected with the side of his face and she was about to dart into the kitchen for another item to defend herself with when he threw another ball of wind towards her.

The scream that exploded from her throat frightened even herself. It was pain filled and she collapsed on the floor for a moment in pain, blood pooling beneath her as she laid there. The slices made by his attack were apparent through her ripped clothing and she coughed, spitting up some blood as her vision began to blur. He growled darkly and turned from her. She felt the need to get herself together to protect the defenseless woman and she looked around for something, anything, that she could distract him with.

Something glinted in the corner of her vision and she blinked. A piece of what was left of the television was off to her side and she reached, cringing as the pain shot through her body. She bit her lip, her fingers brushing the cool metal piece and she gulped, pushing herself to reach it and as her hand gripped the metal piece, she forced herself onto her knees. Turning, she cleared her vision by blinking a few times, focusing on the male before her and she drew her arm back and threw it at him.

The metal hit him in the middle of his back and he whipped around, eyes glaring at her as he did so. He moved towards Keiko as she leaned against the wall to stand, the pain of her injuries screaming at her. The demon moved forward and as he drew closer, she ducked into the kitchen. Grasping some of the plates that were on the drying rack, she turned and chucked them in his direction. She heard the shattering, moving around the table the opposite side of which he was and she stumbled back into the living room, brown eyes wide as she looked over to the open door. For a moment, she wished that she had seen Yusuke there, who would have kicked the ass of the man who had hurt her and she stepped towards it, hoping to draw him out of the apartment into the streets below where he would be forced to chase her on foot. She stumbled forth when she was grabbed by the collar of her ripped shirt and she was thrown back.

A sickening crack could be heard as she hit the wall, whimpering and cringing as she began to slide down the wall. Her injuries were burning and for a moment she prayed for Yusuke to come barreling through the open door and kill the son of a bitch who seemed to stalk towards the weak and bleeding female. He seemed to eye her dazed form and deemed her useless because he went to turn away from her. In a moment of desperation she reached out and wrapped her arms around one of his legs, biting him as hard as she could. The yowl he released seemed to echo and he spun around, throwing her off his leg and she tumbled a few feet before he was on her, a swift kick to the stomach knocking the air out of her as tears clouded her vision.

* * *

Kurama grunted as he forced himself to stand. The last time he felt such a burning sensation through his injuries was when he faced Karasu in the Dark Tournament. The small explosives that he had forced energy into had burned the shit out of him but what this demon Takeshi was throwing at them and, although it did not explode, it still burned at his skin like a raging inferno. He cringed as he stood, watching Hiei and Yusuke attempt to get closer. Kuwabara jumped to his feet, resilient as ever as he ran forward, his spirit sword drawn as he tried to hit the electric spheres away with his spirit sword, matching energy with energy.

Kurama tossed his wilting rose off to the side before balling his hands into fists before he leapt into battle, wondering just how they were supposed to take down an enemy who held the female like a shield before him. He was sure that the girl was so scared and confused that they would have to call Spirit World to aid her and possibly erase her memories of Takeshi and them. He gasped as he narrowly dodged an attack, shaking him from his thoughts and he lunged forward, joining his comrades in battle as he ducked and weaved in and out of the firing range, debating on different strategies.

Yusuke hit the ground and jumped back up, used to getting knocked down before. He stood and growled, lurching forward as he tried to hit the male again when something in his chest constricted. He lost his momentum and cringed, stopping. He felt that something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong, but before he could try to figure out what it was, he was flung back. This time Takeshi had caught Hiei off guard and the fire demon had flown back into the stationary Mazoku, sending them both to the floor.

* * *

Daisuke was enraged. Out of all the humans in the living world he would be the one to come across the most stubborn female there was. She had nothing to protect and he found her attempts irksome and futile. How dare she get in his way as he tried to collect the woman who had been taken from Takeshi in the first place? He stalked from the woman, slamming open the door to the room the demon had fled to and he eyed the room. The window was closed, so he knew she was still around. He went to the closet first, knowing that it was a normal spot for frightened beings to hide, but found no trace of the female. His anger grew as he slammed open the bathroom door, finding the adjacent room empty as well.

Where the fuck had she gone?

His light blue eyes scanned the bathroom and he found small crevices and even closets that she could had hid in, finding that she was nowhere to be found. He gritted his teeth, his black mask falling from his head as the last piece of fabric holding it together ripped, finally giving way to the slashes created by the human female who laid in the main room. He ripped open the shower curtains, finding the basin empty as well before a clink, faint and almost non-existent, came from behind him. Whipping around, he saw the sink and he grinned wickedly.

Looks like he found his target.

* * *

The laugh that erupted from Takeshi was one of pure mockery.

Hiei was beginning to loathe his weapon choice. Usually he could use his katana and slice the throat of his enemy without a second thought, but between the demon's use of electrical energy and the human female he held to him like a buffer, he couldn't manage to land a single hit. This bastard was prepared for everything they had to throw at them and the enclosed space only gave them limited options.

Of course, Hiei had contemplated on releasing his dragon. He wanted to wipe the smug look off of the demon's face but the female would be killed in the process. He had yet killed a human being, finding the act foolish now that he was fighting for the damned species, and he was not going to start now. Should he kill the female, a war could be started upon the Makai and he would be forced, not only to choose a side, but fight Spirit World over a single female whose death would be on his hands and although his hands were used to being bloodied, Hiei was not about to risk the peace that Yusuke had worked so hard to obtain between the three worlds.

Using his speed to dodge another attack, he noticed that the Detective had stopped moments before he had been flung at him. They had both hit the ground and Yusuke barely reprimanded him about the collision, seeming lost in his own thoughts for a moment. The Detective was usually the one whose mind was engrossed in battle and Hiei did not have time to question the look in the Leader's eyes before they both had to dodge a flying Kuwabara. The damned oaf had the best of luck, it turns out, because he had a sword of spiritual energy. He was matching spiritual energy against demonic energy that was formed into electricity. He was the only one to get close enough to almost land a hit but he backed off, the writhing girl in Takeshi's arms holding him off. The fucking sad excuse for a demon was using a female as his protection and it was working.

"Although it has been fun, I think that your time is up. Tell Koenma I said hello for me, won't you?"

The stumbling group watched as he jumped up and back onto the catwalk he had originally began his assaults from.

"Why don't you come tell him yourself?!" Yusuke spat.

"Oh, I would love to but it seems that I have a prior engagement to attend."

Oh, this bastard was so fucking cocky.

"But, here. A gift!" he cried.

Without hesitation, the male reached a hand out, creating another sphere. The group tensed, waiting for the attack to fly towards them, but instead the demon cackled, half turning to position himself as he did something that made the boys scramble.

He threw the girl from the catwalk.

A muffled scream seemed to echo as the girl fell and time seemed to stand still. Their choices were limited. They could split up and try to get both or collectively try to get the demon, letting the girl fall to her death. Yusuke and Kuwabara lurched forward, both hoping to catch the girl. Using his demonic energy, the Detective pulled forward and jumped. He caught the girl midair and flipped, landing on the ground with her in his arms as smoke seemed to begin filling up the warehouse.

In Yusuke and Kuwabara's attempt Hiei and Kurama made a leap for the demon. He had smirked at them before using the sphere to create a smoke cloud, hiding him from their site. Hiei pulled out his katana and slashed, a last minute attempt to kill the bastard before he got away, but instead of hitting him, he fell through, collapsing onto the catwalk. Kurama landed besides him and the look upon the fox demon's face must have mirrored his own.

The fucking bastard got away.

**Again! **

As the group reconvened, Kurama assisted the woman who was bound and gagged, checking her for any injuries that may have been caused, even accidentally. Yusuke pulled out his communicator, the damned purple looking compact, and flipped it open, a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach, but before he could actually send the call through an image of Keiko flashed in his mind. He froze, wondering what it could mean when a feeling rocketed through him, sending him to his knees. The communicator slipped from his hand, skidding across the floor of the warehouse.

A ringing broke through his thoughts and he turned his head, looking for the device. Kurama answered it, picking it up off the ground. Yusuke could barely hear the chatter that was the conversation, his thoughts racing. He stood on shaky legs, chocolate brown eyes searching for the exit. He barely caught the word 'apartment' in Kurama's conversation as he stumbled to the door, bursting through it only to find Ayame, another one of Koenma's pilots for the river Styx and beside her was an emergency portal. He looked at her face, attempting to analyze it and see if he could find the answer to his question. She held no expression upon her face, the same emotionless expression she consistently carried, and he ducked through the portal, wanting answers.

He came out in the alleyway beside his apartment complex and was baffled by the sounds of sirens getting closer. He moved, turning the corner and taking the stairs up two or three at a time, wanting to find out what was going on. He came to his apartment where the neighbor stood, turning as he approached and wearing an expression he could not decipher upon his face. It was as if time slowed and he knew it before he saw it. Stepping into the apartment, his brown eyes widened.

"Kei…ko…"

The whisper seemed foreign, but he knew it was his own strangled cry that had escaped him. The sight in front of him was enough to make him sick and he turned, refusing to look at the broken shards of glass upon the floor or the frying pan discarded off to the side as if it was thrown. He had seen the door that was barely hanging on its own hinges, the bottom hinge broken from sheer force and he knew that a human did not do this. His mind whirled and he found it hard to breathe as he pictured the—

"Sir? Could you step away? We need to get a medic inside."

Yusuke looked up at the police officer, his mind numb as the older man spoke to him. He nodded, stepping away as a group of paramedics and officers ran in, hoping to save the life of Keiko Yukimura.


	12. Ashen Skies and Horrific Lullabies

**12. Ashen Skies and Horrific Lullabies**

The sky was overcast and grey like that of ash. The grass beneath his feet were green, a luscious hue of green that just did not belong in such a painful place. It was bright against the grey sky and black cloth, even now, as he stared at the fresh upturned earth, he found the green to be a hindrance and annoying. Nothing should be bright in a world of grey. Nothing. Even now, as he felt hands touch his shoulder and words were spoken with such tones that would normally aggravate him, he felt that the green was out of place and that he wanted to rip all of the fresh blades of green grass from the Earth and burn them. Burn every single piece of it. Yusuke Urameshi could barely think as he stood there, eyes glassy from the tears he could no longer shed and although the words that were given sounded hallow to his ears, something inside of him welcomed them as well as the distraction of the bright green grass against the ashen skies. Continuously, he replayed the moments; dashing up the stairs, fearing the worse, as he turned and saw it all. Blood streaked walls. Broken glass. Blood spots from moving. Her…Her...

Her eyes. Those lifeless brown eyes.

He had yet to sleep since that night when he found Keiko lying in a pool of her own blood. He knew that a human could not inflict those kinds of injuries and he was sure that if a human had tried, she would have wiped the floor with him using the frying pan she had used to fend off the attacker. He knew that she would have escaped if it was human. That she would have lived if it was a human. Somewhere deep inside of him he knew that this was a demon's doing and he could barely comprehend just who would have had enough balls to break into his home let alone destroy a life that was so fragile and so…so…

A sob racked his body.

He had walked away from the scene, numb and unsure of what to do. He was unable to figure out what he felt. Was this what she had felt when he had died, saving the life of a child who would have lived even if he had not interfered? He had been ready to rip off the head of anyone who even tried to point a finger at him and luckily, after handing over the human woman to spirit world, his comrades had come to his aid, assuring police that they had just went through an ordeal where a friend's house had burned down and they were trying to save the person inside, explaining the various burn marks upon the four boys. They had dropped the interrogation, finding Yusuke to be inadequately able to respond in his state of shock. Fast forward to present day where he stands, staring at the upturned earth, believing that the bright green grass was undeserving to thrive. A part of him, his Mazoku part, wanted nothing more than to unleash its rage upon even the most innocent lives, but he knew that Keiko would have hated him for it.

Keiko…

Merely hours before his discovery, they had been eating breakfast and talking to one another as if nothing could have ever touched them. He had enjoyed breakfast, making fun of her and her cooking so that she'd puff her cheeks up at him and look angry. She always looked cute when she was angry or flustered. When her cheeks would become a bright red and she'd look like she was about to smack the shit out of him. He tried to picture those rosy cheeks and the embarrassed look upon her face and held it there for a moment, closing his eyes to visualize it further, only for the image of her lifeless form to emerge, crushing the image of her he had left.

A hand touched his shoulder and he half turned, glancing over the hand to its owner. Emerald green eyes stared at him with such sorrow, he wondered how much grief he would feel stab into his chest before he was able to shed another tear for his childhood friend. Beyond Kurama stood Yukina, who buried her face into her hands, finding it hard to not cry in front of even the humans who had gathered for the farewell they were giving to their dear friend and behind her was Hiei. The fire demon would not express it but he knew, through the stubborn demon's actions of staying close since the discovery of Keiko's body that he would be just as distraught as Yusuke should it have happened to Yukina. He also knew that the fire demon respected his control, knowing that it was nearly impossible to keep the rage he felt under control even now as he stood beside the grave that they had just laid her cold body down in. Behind the fire demon stood a sniffling Kuwabara who knew Keiko almost as long as Yusuke, though he only became friends with her after he began to assist Yusuke on his missions for Spirit World.

Beyond Kuwabara was Shizuru who stood there, looking off into the distance, lost in her mind and her arms crossed, nails seeming to dig into her arms as she tried not to cry, wanting to be strong for her baby brother and his friends. With her stood Botan, the Pilot of the River Styx who had personally come to take Keiko, but needed to be relieved. She could barely stand the sight of the place and to add having to take one of her closest friends to their final resting place was too much for the reaper to handle. Even now, although she seemed reserved, he knew she was still crying. Genkai stood off to the side, face turned from his sight, but the tears on her cheeks were inevitable. The old hag had loved Keiko like a daughter, treating Yusuke as a son, and she could hardly stand the idea that the girl would be gone forever, never able to visit with her again. Even Koenma was there, paying his own respects. He was the last one to see Keiko and although he would have wanted nothing more than to bring her back, he had no justifiable cause other than "she's a friend". On Yusuke's other side was Atsuko, his mother, and beside her was Keiko's mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Yukimura who both mourned the death of their star student daughter probably the most.

The guilt he felt seemed to blossom as he returned his gaze to her fresh grave, eyes finally moving up to see the tombstone that Koenma had so graciously made in her honor. It was an engraved picture of her, eyes shining bright with a big smile and her long hair. Yusuke almost smiled. That is how he wanted to remember Keiko. _His _Keiko. He did not know whether or not to hug someone and cry or bash his fists into a tree. Standing there like a ticking time bomb, he knew that his decision was based on pure emotion, but he could do nothing else. He would return to the Makai and release as much energy as he could before returning to the human world to finish the business he now had with whoever the son of a bitch was that took away from him someone he loved dearly.

His hands, which were balled into fists, clenched tighter as he stared at the happy smile she wore in the still picture, beneath it her full name and under that a scrawling of how she was a good friend, an outstanding daughter and a wonderful bride-to-be. Under that was her birthday; January thirty-first and the year. He bit the inside of his cheek realizing just how much time had passed since they had become friends. She had always been the kindest heart around him and she believed in him when no one else did. He knew that her passing was going to be difficult to bear, but he was sure that he would see her again, someday. He thought about his time as a ghost, dead and watching over her, and wished that for this very moment she was able to do the same. To see that her friends loved her dearly and that, although he wasn't there, he would kill to have saved her. He would have listened to the pain in his chest, the knot in his gut, and he would have saved her. The feeling from the Dark Tournament returned where he thought that Kuwabara had died, before his own eyes, and he had to bite his tongue.

_Just like everyone else with power…_the thought returned, _I don't do anything to help…_

The former Detective moved his eyes from the grave up to the grey sky, wishing he could see her face, even if it was for one last time. He wanted to tell her he loved her and that her cooking was always amazing. That he said those things because he liked to pick on her and make her angry because she looked cute. That she meant the world to him and now that she was gone he couldn't. He couldn't say a damned thing to her anymore. Closing his chocolate brown eyes, the teenager felt the last bit of moisture escape his hold, trailing down his cheek.

_I love you, Keiko. _Came his lingering thought, _I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me. _

A sob tried to creep up on him and he turned his face down again, the tears on the verge of coming again. His shoulders shook with his grief as he thought about the woman who he will have to live on without and all the things he wished he had done differently. It was not much longer that he could be here. He needed to leave.

Mr. and Mrs. Yukimura came to him, both reaching out and hugging him tightly. They knew that this death wasn't an accident and that their daughter did not have the chance to come back. They did not blame him for not being home, knowing that he was working two jobs so that he could save up money for a wedding and a house while Keiko continued school. They thought of him as the son they never had and even now that they have lost their only daughter, they loved him as a son. Atsuko stood off to the side, face dry and an emotionless expression upon her face as if she did not want to stay, barely able to contain her own grief as memories of Yusuke's death flashed in her mind and she glanced at Yusuke who returned Keiko's parents hugs and words. She knew that he was holding back something.

As the group began to move once more, dispersing to their respective vehicles, Yusuke lingered. He crouched down, hands stuffed in his pockets, and his eyes lingered on that smiling face upon the stone. He could fill in the color, of course, he could never forget those brown eyes or her hair. He could not erase the memories of her smooth skin, pale and warm, nor could he ever forget the sound of her voice. The smile.

No, he would never forget.

He stood, eyes lingering on the tombstone once more before turning to look at the bright green grass and he frowned. Turning, he headed for Kurama and the gang who had all come together, wanting to support Yusuke the whole way through. They watched him as he walked over, eyes glued to his dark shoes and as he reached them, the sound of crying and frozen tears hitting the floor surprised him. He looked up, seeing Yukina in the arms of Botan and both women were crying. Frozen tears clinked against the ground and Hiei hurriedly picked each one up as Kurama watched to see if anyone noticed the gems. Yusuke wanted to scoff, but then he realized that his friends believed they were now under attack. One of them have been killed, another taken, and the only ideas that they could come up with, he didn't want to hear because he was so consumed in his grief.

"Yusuke," Koenma began, ripping the young man from this thoughts, "I wanted you to know that Keiko is in a great place. We've set up the best we could for her."

The detective nodded. The Spirit World Ruler's words were hallow to him. Nothing would bring Keiko back, not even the known fact that should he desire, he could go to Spirit World and see her, but he knew that it wouldn't be the same. He couldn't hug her or tell her he's sorry.

"I….just need to go."

The young Prince was confused.

"Go? Where?"

"The Makai." The boy supplied, "I need to release this pent up energy."

Brown eyes widened at the detective and Koenma nodded, "I will alert the other three kings, then."

The boy nodded, turning from his friends and making his way down the street. He needed to be alone. He needed to get a grip on himself. He was a danger to everyone right now, including himself.

* * *

Darkness.

It was all that she could see when she opened her eyes.

Rattling

It was all she could hear when she tried to move.

Emptiness.

Beneath her feet.

She was back.

It did not take long for her to know just where she was, but the girl with the white hair did not care. Upon being taken from the bathroom, she had seen the horrific sight of the woman who had taught her so much in a short time and she could only cry for her. Tears slid down her cheeks even now, countless days later, and she felt as though she were broken. Her chest hurt from an emotion she had never experienced before and she wondered just what made her hurt. The discomfort was almost more than she could bare and the woman knew pain. Even now, she knew pain.

A loud creak and light. She was blinded, closing her eyes attempting to shield them from the scorching brightness and she wanted to turn her face away. She ducked her face behind her arms which were above her head and she did not know whether or not she should peek out from around them. She knew who her visitor was, for he had come to break her multiple times since her abduction, and she could barely look at him, not that she was supposed to. She blinked, trying to ease the pain in her retinas when a scoff echoed in the room.

"You know that you have disappointed me."

The phrase made her nod. She knew that he would find a way to make this her fault, even though she knew of nothing but the four walls she had been encased in all her life. The walls may have changed but the confinement never did. She knew that she had been bad.

"You've even gone and got someone killed."

He knew how to hurt her far more than she knew. The pain in her chest became stronger after that statement and the tears came full force. The blood. All of the blood that was splattered against the wall. The lifeless form of the woman who had told her to hide. The girl had never seen death. Not once had she had to experience the cruel force of death and she wanted nothing more than to get rid of the image behind her eye lids. She hasn't slept, the binds being minute in what has been keeping her awake. Instead, the image of the fallen girl who had only tried to protect her kept her up, her mind unable to wrap around the bloodshed. The next sentence he said involved the word she disliked the most; punish. He was going to punish her for a while. She would be trapped in these four walls and punished until he believed that she had learned her lesson. A slave was to do as the Master pleased. She was not to have a mind of her own. She could only do as told.

She was a slave and he would remind her of that.

He closed the door behind him and she was blind again. The footsteps echoed in the darkness and she closed her eyes, wishing she was still at the apartment and that Keiko, the loving human brunette, wasn't lying in a pool of blood. She wished that the pain in her chest would go away and that she wanted nothing more than to disappear. She knew what was coming and her tears spilled over as her thoughts reminded her of the last punishment she had received. Would it be just as painful?

The girl cringed as the clanging of metal reached her ears. She turned her head about, attempting to locate her Master, heart hammering in her chest for she could see nothing. Her throat was dry and her tears fell upon her lips. She licked at them, grateful for the water. The clanging happened again and she cringed, jerking as the feeling of icy cold metal touched her skin. He was securing her, she realized, to be absolutely still. The metal clicked closed around her ankle and the rattling of the attached chain echoed as he pull it out to the side. Her leg followed, stretching to the left until it was uncomfortable and she shook with fear. The process was repeated with her right leg, the cold metal, the rattling, and the tugging until she was uncomfortable. She now hung from the ceiling by her wrists, her legs spread apart by the cuffs around her ankles, completely at the mercy of her Master.

Just the way he liked her.

She knew better than to fight the binds. Should she struggle, her torment would only be lengthened and much worse. She heard silence for a moment before a dark cackle echoed and she heard the wind whipping about as he toyed with one of his many instruments. The maiden, if she could, would have whimpered as he cackled, but she couldn't and as he tested out the many instruments that he surely had behind him, she dreaded the actual moment when they would connect with her skin. Everything went silent before he snickered again and she knew that tone.

He assailed her with his favorite instrument, a cat-o-nine whip with the tough leather tips that cut through her skin with the right amount of force. He struck her with it, the chains rattling as she cringed and he continued the assault, grinning wickedly in the darkness. He could now hear a dripping of some sorts and he inhaled deeply, the scent of blood in the air making him smirk. Her back, surely a bloodied mess, was his target for the day and he was going to enjoy it. He placed the whip down, fingers trailing across the metal table behind his victim, locating a chain. He turned to his victim and meandered to her, wrapping the chain around her neck before tugging, constricting her wind pipe making it hard for her to breathe. The woman cringed and struggled, trying to dislocate the heavy metal upon her neck. Takeshi laughed before tying the ends of the chain to her wrist binds so that every time she struggled it would tighten around her neck, a sort of controlled way to teach her not to struggle. He returned to the slightly bloodied cat-o-nine and picked it up, turning back to his victim and grinning. He began to assault her again, slowly at first, making the hits harder and more unbearable with each stroke he took. It was unfortunate that she could not speak. He would have loved to hear her screams of pain.

What felt like an eternity for the white haired maiden was only an hour and a half of her Master's torture and as he finished with his toy, he placed the whip down and exited the room, leaving the demoness there to hang like that, bleeding from her back. He body swayed slightly still moving from the force of the hits, and although she was unable to scream, her tears did not cease to express her pain. Her bloodshot eyes closed now that he had departed and she hung there, wishing that she could die. She wanted to die for what happened to Keiko and wished that she did not have to suffer this pain any longer. But then, she thought back to the lifeless form of the brunette and she thought of how much she deserved to be beaten and tortured. She needed to learn a lesson. She needed to suffer for what she did to the human woman.

It was all her fault.


	13. A Storm's Brewing

**13. A Storm's Brewing**

It had taken him a few more days of people and consolation before he was able to tell his mother and Keiko's parents that he just needed to get away. At first, his mother flipped out, saying that he didn't have to be a child and run from his problems, but he just shrugged it off. He didn't have the energy to argue with Atsuko and he honestly did need to get away. He closed down his ramen stand, a note posted on the outside saying that he was on vacation and he broke the lease on the mangled apartment, unable to return to it after what he saw. Instead, he had been staying at Kurama's, his mother Shiori willing to help him in any way she could after being told what happened, and she offered him a room. Koenma had assured him that he would send a few of his pilots to gather up his and Keiko's items as well as the items for the white haired maiden who had been missing for the past two weeks. Yusuke had to leave the living world in a hurry and forgot about the girl.

Now, he had only the long stretch of plains before him. He had run through the portal, pushing himself harder and harder, running across the demon plains. He stopped in the middle, glad to know that he was in a neutral zone and he ripped off his jacket, throwing it to the ground before letting his true self emerge. His energy changed from a light blue to a bright red, flickering about him as he stood there, calling his energy forth. It was like a ticking time bomb. He thought about Keiko, the time she had waited for him and all the times she cried over him. He thought about his life as a spirit detective and the damned demon who had taunted them. He growled, an animalistic sound escaping him. He let his power flare before it felt like a balloon popped and he tilted his head back, a screaming bursting from his mouth. Red energy surrounded him, spiraling up from his spot and shooting high into the sky.

Alaric's lord, Mukuro, felt the immense energy, turning her head to glance out her window to the red spiral column of energy. A frown graced her half mechanical face as she felt the pure emotion from the release of energy. From another territory, Gandara, Yomi turned his head towards the direction of energy, awed by the sheer power. Although blind, he could only imagine the column and the emotions hit him hard and raw. He grunted, unable to keep himself from cringing at the amount of sorrow and grief in the energy. In Tourin, Hokushin turned abruptly, recognizing the energy and staring in awe at the bright red energy spiking through the sky. A murmur left his lips as he felt his eyes water for a moment, the pure grief and sadness catching hold of his demon heart and he gulped.

In releasing his energy, his Mazoku blood pulsed and his hair began to grow. With every pulse of grief, his skin began to darken and markings appeared upon his body. His hair reached to the length of his knees and his markings darkened to a cobalt hue. He continued to scream, his power reaching its highest point yet. Yusuke let every bit of his energy out until he had no more to spare. He collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees, breathing heavily. It was going to be some time before he was ready to face the living world again, but in the meantime, he was here in the Makai, the second home he had.

* * *

How long has she been in this place?

The white haired maiden, bloodied and bruised, was curled against the wall, her chains a weight she remembered all too well. She had her naked back to the wall, shivering as the cold touched her and she felt as though she had nothing but time upon her hands to do nothing but cry. She has been crying a lot lately, unable to sleep. She laid in that corner even when her Master entered and he was angered by her lack of enthusiasm. Instead of barking orders, he reached for her chain and yanked, choking her a bit as he pulled at it, bringing her face up to his. She was brought up to her knees and she tried to gasp for breath, her hands reaching up to grab the thick, heavy chain around her neck. He smirked at her, light now allowed into the room, and dropped the chain, letting her fall to the ground. A swift kick to the stomach made her curl in on herself and she shook as she laid there, silent coughs escaping her. He watched the sad excuse for a slave writhe in pain and he simply wanted her to suffer more.

Oh, yes. So much more.

Reaching for her chain again, he pulled, turning and moving towards the center of the room where he had originally hung her by her wrists. She followed on hands and knees, unable to get on her feet before he began to move. He yanked her to her knees and she scrambled to stand, not wanting her air to cut off again. In the light he could see the bruising on her neck and he grinned wickedly at her before grabbing the dangling cuffs and cuffing her wrists. He moved from her to the handle he used to crank her up and he watched gleefully as he was hoisted into the air by her bloodied and bruised wrists. When she was about a foot and a half off the ground, he chained her legs apart again, wanting her to know that this was still punishment and she would be subjected to more torment. This time, though, he knew that she would get the point.

As she hung from her wrists, exposed to her Master, he moved in front of her and eyed her front, virtually untouched by his attacks and he grinned. He had a thin, plastic stick that he tapped against his hands and he grinned at her, commanding her to look at him. He explained what the stick was 'a crop' and he said that although most use it for kinky sex, he was going to use it to punish her. The stick made a dangerous noise and she cringed at it, jerking from it as he swung it, hitting her on the stomach. The female's mouth opened in a silent scream as she jerked and writhed, tears lashing at her eyes from the pain. He was excited to see her like that and repeated the process again...and again. Her torso was forcefully covered in thin red marks, some hitting the same spot over and over, causing splotches of blood to drift right beneath the surface of her skin. He stopped after several long excruciating minutes and examined his work. The marks covered her entire torso, leaving only her bosom and legs unmarked at this point. He then moved to her legs, smacking them again and again with the crop, causing the welts to come and the blood to rise to the surface. She still jerked and tried to scream, sobs caught in her voiceless throat.

When he finished with her legs he grinned, stepping up to her and grabbing the chain around her neck with his free hand before discarding the crop and pressing his cold palm against her scorching hot, injured skin of her stomach. For a moment, he watched as her face seemed to calm at the cooling sensation she was getting, but then her face contorted, a grimace replacing her expression as she struggled, a silent scream escaping her as he amped up his energy. He was sending those deathly electrical currents through her body, amping up the intensity until she was convulsing from the pain, trying as much as she could to remove his hand from her stomach. As he pulled his hand away, she was breathing heavily, silver eyes wide with fear. He laughed, a wicked and dark laugh that was humorless. He pressed his palm against her burning hot skin again, watching with gleeful magenta eyes as she went to scream, unable to, and writhe in absolute agony. Takeshi Konran repeated this process until his slave was barely conscious and left the room, having to remove himself before he accidentally killed her.


	14. Battle Begins

**A/N; Glad to see the reviews! They give me a lot of fuel! 3 I'm glad that I have been able to give ya'll some chapters, but the publication might be slowing down due to tests this week. **

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* * *

**14. The Battle Begins**

Yusuke could barely remember how the living world looked, using the escape to demon world a way to release his pent up emotions and frustrations, his heart breaking every time he screamed, knowing that had he listened to his gut, that Keiko might still be alive. It took him weeks to come to terms with his own actions and now, as he walked through the once familiar streets of his home, he wondered how his companions were fairing. He was currently on the way to Genkai's to see the gang, making a detour to pass by his old ramen stand. He made the call that morning to sell the damned thing, knowing that he no longer needed it. His things were in Spirit World, as were Keiko's and the clothes they had bought for the female who was still missing and he had to remind himself that the girl wasn't the real reason Keiko died. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time with no protection. He waited for the train to arrive before getting on, holding onto the handles above his head with a sigh. He shivered in his short sleeve tee shirt, partially ripped from his time away in the Makai and he gritted his teeth at the chill.

It was finally November.

In a few weeks, the gang would get together like they always did and he'd find himself at a loss of what to do. Usually Keiko made a pie or two and they'd take it to Genkai's helping with the preparations while the other guy would hang out on the small patio, chit chatting. This year would be different. Very, very different. Eventually, the train stopped and Yusuke Urameshi got off of it, looking up to the lush forest that stretched before him. He began his trek to the old hag's place, wanting to get this meeting over with. He was done receiving the pity and wanted to track down and kill the bastard who had taken Keiko's life. The trek was long as he took his time, feeling that he had no reason to run up the pathway when he was still recovering from the energy releases he had. A red column of energy and grief, accompanied by a gut wrenching scream, graced the Makai sky multiple times in his stay. He was exhausted. But from the information that Koenma gathered, he would finally know the one who destroyed his life here in the living world and he would make sure that they paid for it in blood. Soon, he came upon the property and meandered to the doors, sliding open the one with light and shadows behind it. He stood in the open door way, various eyes of his friends flickering up to look at him. He cleared his throat.

"Hey."

He cringed. His voice was hoarse and sounded broken.

"Oh, Yusuke." Botan said, standing and coming to him, hugging him to her, "I know that you've been in the Makai but I had no idea if you were okay! I'm so glad to see you here!"

"Welcome back, dimwit." Genkai, the pink haired woman greeted him, "Seems like you enjoyed yourself in demon world, hmm?"

She was definitely the one he had expected to say something. His hair, which was normally short, was still long and came to his knees. His markings disappeared when he locked his demon energy away, but he couldn't bring himself to cut the hair he had grown out in his bursts of rage and grief. He forced a laugh.

"Yeah, well. It's felt the most natural these past few weeks."

"Of course it does," Koenma replied, "You _are_ part demon, Yusuke. And I hate to say it, but you definitely have a strong resemblance to your ancestral father."

"Tell me something I don't know Koenma." The Mazoku scoffed, "Are we going to sit here and talk about my hair or are we going to get down to business?"

Koenma almost laughed at the Mazoku.

"Well, to start, we've learned that the demon Keiko had confronted, with her own testimony, had been a wind demon named Daisuke. There's not much we have on him, except that he was taught on the same island as Jin and Touya. We're assuming at this point that he was hired by Takeshi to retrieve the girl we were keeping from him."

He sat around the table as Koenma spoke, gripping his knees at the mention of her name.

"I have contacted Mukuro and Yomi about the circumstances before you had left, Yusuke, and they are keeping an eye out for the demon."

"If he trained with Jin and Touya, then he is a shinobi, yes?" Kurama interjected.

"Yes. Which is why he's been off the grid for this long."

Oh, if only he had the location of this son-of-a—

"But," Koenma continued, "We may have finally received a location on Takeshi."

"And just where is the fucking bastard?"

"He's in the next city over from here, it seems. He hasn't started up another brothel, but we suspect he has the girl."

For a moment, Yusuke wondered if he should reject the mission to rescue the girl who seemed to be the target that the demon who had killed Keiko was after. He glanced at the Spirit World Ruler, taking notice of his wardrobe change from his usual garb and he arched a brow at Koenma. The Ruler continued to speak, identifying the street and the building. It seemed to be in the center of the city, a terrible location to fighting, but the whole building seemed to be rented to Seiji Rei, Takeshi's human name, and there has been no business-like activity here.

"We're not sure if he is there, but I want you boys to go and see what you can get from the place. If possible, bring him in and locate the woman."

Kuwabara frowned, "How are we supposed to find her? We found them last time because the other girls were screaming."

"We search the damn place." Yusuke retorted, "So when do we leave?"

"Whenever you're ready." Koenma replied, "But I would suggest putting a brush through that mane of yours."

The Mazoku scoffed and stood, ducking from the room to another, muttering about the Ruler's words. He had a lot to take in and had to remind himself that the living world was much more sensitive to things like unnatural length or colors of hair or eyes. He located the bathroom and glanced at himself in the mirror. He stood with wide eyes. His dark brown, almost black, hair was long, to his ankles, and high upon his head. He reached up and patted the hair down, attempting to fix it when a growl escaped him. Botan wandered by, looking for him and she smiled, offering him assistance. He grumbled and accepted, sitting where she asked him and she plugged in something behind him before locating a brush and taking it through his hair. He cringed as the pain as she brushed out the knots and wondered what she was doing as he felt heat nearby. He closed his eyes, letting the reaper do what she could with the 'mane of hair' as Koenma had called it.

When Botan had finished with the brush, she straightened his hair to a manageable degree. His bangs which were slightly arched above his brows and hanging in his face were left alone, simply because it looked best and they did not reach the ponytail in which the reaper was making. She smiled and stepped away, eyeing her work and smiling at Yusuke who stood and turned, looking in the mirror. His mane was now flat against his skull, straightened and tied back, and he had to admit it didn't look bad. He was grateful for the change and he stepped out, following her to the main room where she announced her work. Kuwabara attempted to have a laugh at Yusuke's expense, but the Mazoku brought his fist to the human's face, shutting him up effectively. Kurama chuckled at the two, glad to see Yusuke return from his time in the Makai and he turned to Koenma, mentioning the possibility of dealing with the problem before nightfall. Koenma agreed, biding the boys farewell and good luck as he exited the temple, mentioning that he had some serious issues to attend to in Spirit World. The group left the temple, heading down the forest path to the train station at the base of the mountain and as the wait for the next train to take them to the city over, Yusuke began a conversation with Kurama.

"So, what has Baby Breath been doing?"

"Well," Kurama replied, "There has been findings that King Enma had been forcing demons to attack humans in order to recreate the Kekkai Barrier. Koenma's agents exposed the Spirit King and he is now being dethroned. Koenma will be crowned King of Spirit World in a few days and he's been dealing with the problems caused by his father's actions."

The train arrived and the group got one, Hiei scrunching his nose in distaste. He was a bit confused as to what to do when Kurama took notice and he smiled.

"It might do you best to grab ahold of one of the bars."

The fire demon scoffed and rolled his crimson eyes when the train began to move. He stumbled, throwing a hand out to grab at the silver pole in front of him and he glared at the metal car. He eyed the humans who rode this idiotic car, taking notice that none of them were shocked about the jerk of the car and he scoffed as he glanced to the Detective, the difference in his appearance blatantly obvious to the fire demon. He was calmer than normal and his energy seemed extraordinarily low compared to what it was before he left. Hiei was jerked again as the train stopped and the doors opened. Kurama and Kuwabara were the first off, Hiei following with Yusuke bringing up the rear. It seemed that the group was in a city called Kyuusaisha and as Kurama began to seek out information to locate the street, Yusuke scoffed.

"Anyone think that this is just too fucking easy?"

Kuwabara shrugged, "I don't know Urameshi. I mean, he's been able to get away with this for the weeks you went away."

Hiei rolled his eyes and moved towards the fox demon who was talking with a vendor, asking for directions. He smiled, thanking the woman as he bid her farewell, and he turned to Hiei. He motions for him to follow and they reconvene with Yusuke and Kuwabara, Kurama pointing them in the direction they needed to go to find the street. They moved along, rushing to find the street. Stumbling across the sign for Aikou St., and the boys turned down it. Kuwabara located the building and they stood outside of it for a moment before Yusuke moved towards the door, kicking it in before the group rushes in. Inside, they find Takeshi who was sitting in the living room. He jumped up at the boy's arrival and he glared, a growl upon his lips.

"Takeshi Konran, you are under arrest for human trafficking, killing a human and kidnapping a demon under Spirit World's order and pissing me the fuck off!"

The magenta eyed demon lets out a hissing growl, "You destroy my business, force my into hiding, take away my property and wish to arrest me for your ignorance?"

Yusuke glared, wanting to rip the throat out from this demon's neck.

"No, you will not be arresting me today." Takeshi confided, his power surfacing, "You will no longer interfere in my plans again."

He chucked a sphere of his energy at the group and they scattered, each attempting to locate an open spot in his defenses.


End file.
